Challenge of a Lifetime
by Almost Perfect Stranger
Summary: Ash heads off on yet another adventure but is forced to return home when he discovers something about himself. Now he will have to endure the difficult challenge of mother hood. Mpreg, Yaoi, LeagueShipping
1. Ash's Mystery Illness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or its characters.**

If you can't stand fan fics that involve pregnant males than turn away NOW! **NO FLAMES! If you flame me then you are a retard and I will laugh at you. Muwahahah!**

Anyway for those of you who love these this is the first chappy of COAL. _Challenge of a Lifetime_

Isn't that kinda neat how that spelled out to COAL? shot

Now for a little summary:

Ash Ketchum and his friends are enjoying there time in the Aspen Region when he discovers he's pregnant. He knows that Richie is the father but doesn't know how to tell him. Now he must take on probably take on the most important challenge of his life by becoming a new parent. **This story contains YAOI, MPREG, Leagueshipping (Ash x Richie), Orangeshipping (Misty x Tracey) and slight Bouldershipping (Ash x Brock) but nothing physical happens between them.**

By the way, in the fic, they go to a place call the Aspen Region. It's a place I made up. So please don't think it's the name of the Diamond and Pearl region. I think it would be best for them to go to a made up place so that it wouldn't interfere with the original story.

"_wouldn't interfere with the original story..."_ I'm making Ash Ketchum pregnant for god's sake! That's not interference? XD

Any who enjoy!

* * *

**Ash's Mystery Illness**

A couple months ago, Ash and friends had left Pallet Town and headed off to yet another adventure. Ash is hoping to compete in a new Pokemon League that Professor Oak had told him about known as the Aspen League. It wasn't supposed to be a very long journey. Ash only needed to earn badges from the three gym leaders there in order to compete. Ash had been excited about since the day he left his home town, but lately his excitement had been replaced with agony.

He hadn't been feeling well at all lately. He had been throwing up every day for the past few weeks. He had also been having bad stomach cramps and head aches. His friend Brock had been giving him his own remedies for nausea but they just didn't seem to work. Brock had also been checking Ash for fevers but his temperature always came up normal. Ash's friends have been trying to persuade him to see a doctor but he never wanted to. He never was a big fan of doctors. Except the doctors that had helped his pokemon recover that is.

Now Ash and company were touring one of the Aspen Region's biggest land marks, The Red Wood forest. The forest was famous for there large red wood trees no doubt. The groups of friends were really enjoying the sights until Ash suddenly got sick again.

"Wwwoooww…this is so amazing, don't you think guys?" Ash's friend, May, implied.

"Pika!" agreed Ash's best pokemon friend, Pikachu.

"The trees seem to go up for miles don't they?" asked May's brother, Max, who was using his hand as a visor to keep the sun out of his eyes as he stared up at the trees.

"And the aroma of all these red wood could really clean out all the worries that you have." said Brock. "What do you think Ash?"

Ash didn't respond. He was to the side looking down at the ground shivering a little.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu said as he looked up at his trainer with worry.

"Hey Ash…are you okay?" asked Brock.

Ash then suddenly covered his mouth as he made a grumbling sound. He ran really fast behind a tree and began to vomit.

"PIKA-PI!" screamed Pikachu.

"Oh no! Not again!" said Brock

They could all hear Ash gasp for air for a moment before he started to heave again. After the second sound of vomit hitting the ground, there was a second of quiet before Ash stumbled out from behind the tree wiping off his mouth with a towel and wiping the tears off his face with his hand.

"Pika!" said his worried Pikachu as he ran over to his trainer and grabbed on to his leg.

"Don't worry Pikachu, I'm fine." Ash said as he crouched down to pet Pikachu on the head. He gulped a little and let out a breath.

"I don't think your fine." said Brock.

"Ash, this is like the 100th time this past few weeks that you've thrown up." said May.

"I know, but I'm telling you it's nothing. It's not like I haven't been eating or anything."

"More like you have been eating…A LOT." interrupted Max. "At the restaurant yesterday you ate 2 large cheeseburgers with an extra large side of french-fries and then had 3 big bowls of ice cream. Maybe you need to lay off all the junk food."

Max had been right though. Ash was always known for his large appetite but lately it was an appetite that consisted mainly of junk food. He really didn't have a craving for all the healthy meals Brock makes. Everyone also noticed that Ash had put on at least ten pounds since there journey started.

"That's probably it." Brock said. "You gotta lay off all of that garbage you've been eating and start eating my food again. That would explain all your vomiting spells, stomach aches, and weight gain you've been having."

"I can't help it if I've been craving all that stuff lately. It's really weird. Like this feeling comes over me that makes me want to eat it all."

"Well it's stopping today. You're going to have a strict diet of nothing but 'Brock's Healthy Choices' starting right now!" Brock exclaimed.

"Uh! But Brock that's not fair!" said Ash angrily. "You're not my mom!"

"Or we could just take you to the doctor and see what he says." replied Brock.

"Eh..!" he grunted as he cringed at the thought of a doctor. "No need for that Brock eh he he… I'll follow your diet."

"That's what I though you would say."

Later that night the group camped out under the tall red woods. Brock had cooked a special dinner just for Ash. It consisted of steamed vegetables and some brown rice. He seemed to eat it very slowly though as if he didn't have a taste for it. But he finished it off none the less. He wasn't happy at the fact that May and Max had gotten to eat a baked potato with butter on it. One of his favorites.

"Hey Brock, why can't I have just a little baked potato?" he asked.

"You can, you're just not allowed to put any butter on it."

"Uhh…" he said with disappointment. "Pass…"

The next morning everyone had woken up except for Ash. It wasn't until around noon that he finally opened his eyes. The bright sun hurt eyes and he shoved his face in his pillow.

"Morning sleepy head!" said May

"Umm…hi May." Ash said as his voice was being muffled by the pillow.

"It's noon already. You should really get up now."

Ash then sat up from his sleeping bag and rubbed his eyes a little. As he opened them again he could still feel the pain of the sun in his eyes. Then all of a sudden he grabbed his head and moaned out in pain.

"Uh! Ash, are you alright!" May shouted with concern.

"Oww…my head! I feel so dizzy!" he implied.

"Maybe you should lie down again."

Brock and Max heard Ash and May's shouts and ran over to see what was going on.

"Is everything alright here?" asked Brock

"It's Ash. Something's wrong with him" said a worried May.

Ash then felt the urge to vomit again. But this time, he had no time to get up and hide. He just turned his head away from May and the others and let it all out. His friends look away quickly trying not to see him throw up.

"Eww…that is so gross..." said May quietly with her eyes shut and her hand over her mouth.

"Pika-pi!" yelled Pikachu. He sat by Ash's side and tried to rub his back.

Ash felt really embarrassed that he just blew chunks in front of everyone like that. Embarrassed enough to make him start crying.

"Oh god! What's wrong with me!" he screamed. "I feel worse than ever! I'm so sick of feeling this way!"

"Ash, I'm begging you this time." Brock said. "Please let us take you to a doctor. This could be more than just your unhealthy diet. You could be really sick."

Ash turned around and looked at Brock with tears streaming down his face. He collapsed at Brocks feet and began bawling.

"I'm sorry Brock! I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused! I'm so sorry that I just puked in front of you and the others like that! I couldn't help it!"

Brock kneeled down to look Ash eye to eye and put his hands on his shoulders. Ash had always held a special place in his heart. He always thought of him as another one of his little brothers. Ash had helped out Brock when he was sick, so now it was time for him to do the same for Ash.

"It's alright Ash. I'm not angry with you at all. I'm just concerned about your health. I thought my cooking would have helped you but it didn't. So I'm the one that should be apologizing here. I don't think I've been taking this situation seriously enough."

"But what if there IS something really wrong with me? What if I never find out? What if I even…."

Before he could finish that last sentence, Brock wrapped his arms around him and gave him a hug.

"We will find out what it is. And no matter what everything's going to turn out okay. It always does. That's what you taught me anyway. But we need to have a doctor look at you. I know that you're scared of them but you really need to see one. It would be the best thing for you. So will you let us take you then?"

"Okay then…I'll go…" he said as he began to calm down a little. "You all will go in with me…right?"

"Of course we will." Brock reassured him. May and Max nodded their heads in agreement while smiling.

"Pika…" said Pikachu who was also smiling.

"Thank you…so much…" Ash said as he rested his head on Brock's chest. He felt both exhausted and relieved.

Within an hour everyone, except Ash who was resting, packed up all the bags and were ready to go. Ash was still feeling really dizzy and could barely walk without stumbling. So Brock decided to carry him piggy-back style through the rest of the forest. Pikachu wasn't far from Brock's side in order to keep an eye on his trainer. They still had quite a ways to go before they reached the town on the other side. A few more hours passed by and the group started to think that they were lost.

"Is it just me or I we going around in circles?" May questioned.

"I've gotta feeling it's not just you May." Brock said. "I have no idea which direction we're going in anymore. Max, see if you can find anything on your PokeNav."

"I've been trying but the reception must be really bad in here cause of the trees. I can't seem to pick up anything."

"So we're lost then!" May shouted.

"There's gotta be a way out of this forest." Brock said while looking around.

Ash was none the wiser on what was going on. He had fallen asleep while Brock was carrying him on his back. A few minutes past by and Max was finally able to find something with his PokeNav.

"Hey I got something!" said Max.

"Really?" said Brock

"There's a small building not that far from here. We should make it there in a half an hour. Maybe 20 minutes if we move quickly."

"Then let's start heading in that direction. Lead the way Max." said Brock

While everyone else had their minds set on reaching that building, Ash was dreaming about something that had happened the night before he started his new journey. It was a farewell party that Ash's mother, Delia, had thrown for him. Brock, May, and Max were there of course. So were Misty, Tracey, and Richie; his other friends. Even the Professor came to join the festivities.

* * *

_"We wish you and your friends the best of luck sweetie!"_ said Delia. 

_"Wow! Thanks mom for doing all this for us!"_ Ash said with a smile.

_"I'm sure that you'll win that competition for sure!"_ Misty told him.

"_Heh, I'm sure I will too Misty!"_ Ash agreed.

_"And I'm also sure that you'll learn a lot of valuable information about the pokemon down in the Aspen Region." _Professor Oak said.

_"The Professor sure is right about that Ash."_ implied Richie.

_"I keep tellin' ya Rich. You should come with us. You could compete in the finals too." _Ash responded.

_"Heh, thanks for the offer, but Sparky and I really wanted to check out that Battle Frontier that you were talking about. It sounds really exciting."_

"_Pika-Pika!"_ said Sparky, who was Richie's pikachu.

"_Well, I can tell you that a lot of interesting things happened while we were there that's for sure. I'm sure you'll do great!"_

"_Thanks Ash."_ said a smiling Richie.

"_Hey, you wanna see some of the Frontier Badges I have?"_

"_Sure! That'd be awesome."_

"_There up in my room. Come on!"_

"_Okay!"_

"_Pikachu!"_ said both of there pikachu at the same time as they followed their trainers.

Up in Ash's room, Ash pulled out a small book that he kept all the badges he once since he started his Pokemon journey 4 years ago. On the last page was where he kept the symbols he won at the Battle Frontier.

_"Wow Ash, you've accomplished a lot over the years." Richie said sounding impress. "These are way more badges than I have."_

_"Yeah, but I'd like to win more trophies. They only time I've ever one a competition was when I competed in the Orange League."_

_"Eh, trophies aren't everything."_

The two boys noticed that their Pikachu walked out of the room. They both sat down on Ash's bed. Richie was still looking at the little book of badges.

_"So things didn't work out with you and Misty?"_

_"Yeah…we decided it was best that we remained friends. I guess we just weren't meant to be like we thought._

_"You're not mad that she's dating Tracey now?"_

_"Naw…I'm really happy for them. It's good to know that Misty's happy."_

_"Are you happy?"_

_"Well…I guess I am. I just haven't found the right one yet."_

_"Ever think you might have been looking in the wrong place?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

Richie got up and shut the door to Ash's room.

_"I mean, have you ever really had a sexual feeling for Misty or any other girl?"_

_"Um…no not yet."_

_"What about another boy?"_

Ash kind of remained silent for a moment.

_"Excuse me…? Are you asking me if I'm gay? Cause I don't think…"_

_"Well are you positive that your not. Just think about it for a moment. It's just between you and me."_

Ash paused for a moment. He started to blush a little on the subject and was a little embarrassed to talk about it.

_"Well…..don't tell anyone but I always thought Gary was kinda cute…"_

Richie giggled a little bit.

_"Why are you laughing! Man, I knew I shouldn't have said anything."_

_"No no. I'm not trying to make fun of you. I just thought you looked really cute when you said that."_

_"Are you…gay?"_

_"Well what do you think?"_ he said as he looked at Ash with a big smile on his face.

_"Uhh…." Ash said as his cheeks were turning really red._

_"What are you thinking about right now?"_

_"Heh I really don't know…"_

Richie laid his head on Ash's lap and starting to rub his thigh with his hand. Ash really didn't know what to say. He never felt this way before. His heart was pounding. It pounded harder than it did in some of his most exciting battles. Could this have been…love? Without even really thinking about it Ash started to stroke Richie's hair.

_"So you think I'm cute?"_ Ash asked Richie

_"Very…"_ Richie responded. _"I've thought that ever since the day I met you."_

Richie sat up once again and looked at Ash with a passionate look on his face. Ash couldn't help but gaze into Richie's big blue eyes.

_"Ever wanted to kiss another boy before?"_ Richie asked.

_"Maybe, but I guess I'm willing to try now if you are."_ Ash said.

_"Just be ready for me."_

Ash and Richie's faces began to move closer and closer to each other until their lips finally met. The kissing went on for about 10 minutes. While they were kissing, they started to take each others clothes off until they were practically naked. And then it happened. They made love to each other that night. It was one of the most incredible things that Ash had felt he had done in his entire life. However, he and Richie felt as if they had to keep to themselves.

* * *

Meanwhile, the others finally reached the small building that they were searching for. To their surprise and luck, it was a doctor's office. 

"Wow what luck!" May said. "There's a doctor right here."

"Let's see…" Brock said as he looked at the sign. "'Independent Medical Office of the Lawson Family.'" the sign read. "'Pokemon Trainers get a free appointment from Dr. Ivan Lawson.' Well that's good. We're real low on money."

I little bell rang when they entered the office to let the doctor know that someone had entered.

"Hello?" said Brock, seeing if anyone would respond. There was no answer.

"Maybe they went out to lunch or something." Max implied. "We should probably wait till they get back."

Brock headed over to the couch that was in the waiting room. He lied Ash down on it and gently shook him awake.

"Hey Ash." Brock said quietly.

"Hhmmmm…?" Ash mumbled as he started to wake. "Where are we?" he asked.

"We're at a doctor's office. He's not in right now but we're waiting for him to come back. How are you feeling?"

"A little better." he said. "I still feel a little queasy though."

"Well you rest then. Hopefully the doctor will return soon."

Just then the bell on the front door rang again. Someone else had came in. It was a short old man. He was wearing a white doctor's coat with some brown shorts and some sandals. As he shuffled into the room he immediately noticed everyone in the waiting room.

"May I help you with something?" he asked nicely.

"Uh yes!" Brock exclaimed. "We came here see Dr. Ivan Lawson. Do you know where he is?"

"We'll you're looking at him lad." he said. "Dr. I. Lawson is the name."

"You?" asked May. "But you're so…."

"Old?" countered Lawson as he chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I haven't felt the need to retire. I love my job too much. My life would be way too boring without it." He turned around and noticed Ash lying on the couch. "I take it he's the patient. So what's the young lad's name?"

"His name's Ash Ketchum." Brock informed.

"And what seems to be wrong with Mr. Ketchum today?"

"Well, he's been vomiting a lot lately. He complains of nausea and stomach pains. He also has had some dizzy spells and cravings for unusual foods." Brock explained.

"Oh I see." Dr Lawson said as he wrote on a tiny pad of paper. "Is this all true Ash?"

"Yes Doctor. Every word."

"Can you tell me how long you've been feeling this way."

"About a few weeks now. It went away for about four days but came back yesterday."

"I see…" he said as he continued writing.

"We thought it was his diet. He's been eating nothing but junk food lately but I made him some normal food last night. But he said he felt worse than ever this morning." Brock explained again.

"I see… Why don't we all go in my office now. I'd like to run a few tests."

"Sure." everyone agreed.

"Pika." agreed Pikachu also.

Everyone headed over to a small room that was down a hallway to the left. Dr. Lawson had Ash sit up on the inspection bed. First he took what looked to Ash like a giant popsicle stick and placed it at the back of Ash's tongue and asked him to say "Ah". His throat appeared to be a bit red but that was to be expected from someone who had been throwing up lately. Dr. Lawson then wanted to check his temperature. He placed a disposable thermometer under Ash's tongue. A few minutes later he removed it but his temperature read out as normal. Then he wanted to listen to Ash's heart beat. He took some breaths on his stethoscope to get it warm. He then lifted up Ash's shirt, placed it on his chest, and told him to take long deep breaths. There wasn't anything abnormal about his heart or his breathing. A very good sign. Dr. Lawson then checked his eyes and his ears with a flashlight and every thing seemed alright.

"Well Ash, I've done all the basics and I haven't found anything wrong with you so far. Your throats a little red but that's from your vomiting. Other than that every thing seems fine."

"So then what's wrong with me?"

"I'm not sure yet. I would like to have a blood sample of yours to see if that might have the answer."

"B…b…blood sample?" asked Ash nervously. He watched the doctor pull out a large syringe from a drawer. As soon as Ash saw that he was ready to run out of the room. "I don't wanna do this anymore!" he screamed.

"Ash! You can't leave!" Brock said he held Ash down. "You wanna find out what's wrong with you don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you gotta let him do this. Don't worry. I'll be right here next to you. It'll be alright."

"Okay…" Ash said with hesitation.

"Alright then." said Dr. Lawson he was using his finger to find a vein in Ash's arm do draw blood from. "You may feel a little prick Ash but don't be nervous. Just look away from the needle."

"Alright, sure." he responded with sweat dripping down his face.

When Ash felt the needle go in he quickly grabbed hold of Brock's arm and held on for dear life. Brock used his other hand to hold onto Ash's. It was all over in a few seconds. Dr. Lawson pulled the needle out of Ash's arm and put a band-aid where it was.

"There that wasn't so bad now was it?" the doctor asked. "This may take 45 minutes or so to find out anything. So why don't you all visit the diner in the back and get something to eat?"

"Hey that sounds like a good idea!" said May.

"Yeah I'm starving!" said Max.

"You guys can go ahead." said Ash. "I'm not really that hungry. I'll probably just barf it up anyway."

"But Ash, you haven't eaten all day." Brock said. "You slept through breakfast remember?"

"I know but I don't have much of an appetite anymore."

"Ash without an appetite?" May questioned. "Maybe this really could be serious."

"You and Max head down to the diner May." said Brock "I'll stay here with Ash. I had a lot of breakfast this morning anyway."

"Oh…okay." said May.

"Hey Pikachu, aren't you going with them?" Ash asked when he didn't see his pokemon scurry off with May and Max.

"Piiika." he said while shaking his head in disagreement. "Pika-pi" he said as he patted Ash's knee. Translation being 'I'm staying here with you'.

"Thanks Buddy…" he said as he grabbed and hugged the Pikachu.

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock were in the waiting room eager to hear the results of the blood test. Ash was visibly nervous. His leg was fidgeting really fast and had a very worried look on his face.

"Are you alright?" Brock asked.

"I'm not sure. There's a part of me that wants him to find something so that I know what's wrong with me. On the other hand, I don't want him to find anything because I'm scared of what it might be."

"It'll be okay Ash." he reassured. "What ever happens I'm sure the doctor will find a solution for it."

Time past by in what seemed like an eternity and Dr. Lawson finally returned with the results.

"So what did you find Doctor?" Ash asked.

"Well the good news is that your blood work came out fine. Everything is normal."

"But you still haven't found what type of illness I have?"

"Well…I might have an idea but I really need to talk to you privately about that. Would that be okay."

"Uhh…sure." he said as he turned to Brock.

"Go on. It'll be fine."

Ash then walked back to the examination room with Dr. Lawson.

* * *

That's it for chappy 1! What you think? R&R 


	2. I'm What?

**Desclaimer: I DO NOT own Pokemon or it's characters.**

So I see you made it to Chapter 2 huh? Do I detect that you are interested? Anywho this is the chapter were Ash finds out he's pregnant obviously. You can see that by the title.

Yeah well just read to find out what happens. Hope you enjoy!

**

* * *

**

**I'm…. What?**

While Ash went back to the examination room with Dr. Lawson, Brock sat on the waiting couch with Pikachu in his lap. Just then, Max and May returned from there lunch.

"Hey Brock." said Max "Where's Ash?"

"Did his blood test come back yet?" asked May

"Yeah, but everything came out fine. Now the Doctor wanted to talk to him in private."

Ash sat back up on the table where he was sitting a short while ago.

"Would you mind if I asked you some personal questions?" asked Dr. Lawson.

"Uh…I guess not." he responded.

"Then let me ask you this. Have you ever had any kind of sexual intercourse with another male?"

"W..w..what?" he asked as he trembled.

"This is all confidential. This is only between you and me. Did you or didn't you?"

Ash then flashed back to the night before he began his new journey. He remembered what happened between him and Richie that night. It was the night when they were alone in his room while the others were down stairs at the party. He finally responded to the doctor's question.

"Yes….I did."

"And was this with protection?"

"No…" Ash then thought of something that scared him to the bone. "Doctor, do you think I have that HIV disease!"

"Oh no no no! Not at all. That would have shown up in your blood test. It's something else that I'm thinking of."

"Well then what is it? What's wrong with me?"

"I want to do one more test before I tell you."

Ash saw Dr. Lawson pull out a small plastic cup out from the cupboard. He handed it to Ash.

"Go in the bathroom down the all and take this with you. I would like for you to give me a urine sample."

"Uh…okay…" he agreed.

Ash left the examination room and headed down towards the bathroom. He was in there a few minutes and then returned. He handed the cup over to Dr. Lawson which was now filled with his urine.

"Thank you very much." he said as he walked through a small door inside the examination room. He took the cup over to this machine and started to run some sort of test. Ash was looking in curiously to see what Lawson was doing.

"What kind of test are you running now? What are you doing?"

"Oh I'm just doing an ordinary pregnancy test is all." Dr. Lawson responded.

"Oh pregnancy test…I see…" It took him a quick second to realize what the doctor just said. "…wh…wh..wh…WHAT? Did you just say 'pregnancy test'?"

"Yes, I know that this may seem strange but…"

"Strange?" Ash interrupted. "More like CRAZY! You're a doctor! Don't you know guys can't have babies?"

"Yes, but if you think about it that's what all your symptoms are pointing to. The strange cravings, the vomiting, the stomach aches, the head aches, and the weight gain."

"That's it! I'm outta here!" he yelled as he stormed out of the room.

He dashed into the room where all his friends were. They all looked up when they heard him enter.

"Ash…?" Brock asked. "What's the..."

"We are leaving!" Ash screamed. "This guy's a quack!"

"Ash what did he tell you?" asked Brock.

"He thinks I'M pregnant!"

"WHAT?" the group exclaimed.

"PIKA?" exclaimed Pikachu.

"This guy is nuts! Let's get out of here!"

Just then Dr. Lawson walked in the room with a paper in his hand.

"Just a moment Ash." he said. "I need to speak with you."

"I think you're done talking to Ash!" Brock said. "Maybe you should consider retiring. I don't think your mind is in the right place."

"If you just give me a moment to explain myself you might change your minds."

"…Alright then…explain" Brock said. He looked at Ash and saw that he was really agitated. His arms were crossed and he was looking at the ground.

"You may not believe this, but my grandson was pregnant before."

"He was?" asked May.

"We didn't realize it until he was late in his fourth month. We thought he was just putting on a lot of weight. But when we gave him an ultrasound to see what the matter was, there on the screen, plain as day was the outline of a baby. Believe me; I wouldn't just make this up."

"What's on that paper in your hand?" asked Max

"It's the results for Ash's pregnancy test. Would you like me to read it aloud or would you like to read it to yourself Ash?"

"Go ahead. It's just going to say I'm not." Ash said with a smirk.

Dr. Lawson opened up the folded paper and put his glasses on. Then he read out the results.

"Well Mr. Ketchum, according to this, you are indeed pregnant."

"Come again…?" Ash questioned. "Let me see that!" he said as he snatched the paper from the doctor's hand. He looked at it and was shocked. It did say he was pregnant. "How do I know that this wouldn't be the result if any guy would take it?"

"Believe you me, it wouldn't say you we're pregnant if it did not detect the hormones of pregnancy." Ash still looked unconvinced. "Follow me; I want to show you something."

The group told Max to stay in the waiting room with Pikachu while they went with Dr. Lawson. They followed him into a room with a bunch of file cabinets in it. He had to use a stepping stool to reach a slightly high one. He reached in and grabbed a file folder and stepped off the stool.

"My grandson wanted me to show this to any male that seemed to be in the same situation that he was in."

He opened it and pulled out a bunch of papers. He shuffled through them as if he was looking for something specific. Then he finally found what he was searching for.

"This is a picture of my grandson when he was at 8 months."

When they all looked at the picture they saw a guy who looked a little bit older than Brock was. He didn't have his shirt on and his belly was completely exposed. Ash started to panic.

"Well he definitely looks pregnant." Brock commented.

"All these papers are documents containing what he went through during his pregnancy right down to the birth."

Ash squirmed a little at the word 'birth'. He started to grip on to his stomach with his hand.

"Unfortunately, the baby died shortly after the birth. We don't know if it was SIDS or something else."

"That's so awful." said May. "I'm so sorry."

"We may think that it was something that could have been detected earlier and could have been prevented. That's why my grandson has allowed me to give out this information to prevent it from happening to someone else."

"Wait a minute." Brock interrupted. "I know that in order to get pregnant you need to have sex first and Ash hasn't done that."

"Yes I did Brock." said Ash as he was trying not to look at anyone.

"You…did..?" said both Brock and May.

"YES!" he yelled with tears welling in his eyes. "I did okay? And now I'm pregnant!" He collapsed to the ground and hugged his legs and burrowed his face in his knees.

Brock looked at Ash not knowing what to say. He never knew Ash had had sex before. Let alone with another guy.

"Ash we can help you here if you stay." said the doctor. "We can monitor you to make sure that everything remains okay through out your pregnancy."

"I'm sorry, but I really want to go home. I don't want to stay here!" The tears were now flowing from his eyes. "I want my mom…"

"Well if you want to leave, at least give us your address so that we could possibly keep in touch."

"Alright…" he said trying to hold back his sobs.

Dr. Lawson had Ash fill out a paper with his information. Brock and May were still in shock. They couldn't believe that Ash was pregnant. After he was finished he asked Dr. Lawson if he could use the telephone. He showed him the way to the phone and Ash dialed the number to his house. As it rang, he was visibly nervous about what he was going to tell his mother. What would she say? Would she believe him? Just then his mom answered the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi mom…" Ash said while trying to smile.

"Oh hi sweetie!" she said with excitement. "It's been a while since you've called me. How are you?"

"Not so good…" said Ash as he started to cry again.

"Ash what's wrong? You look so upset. Did something happen to you?" she said with worry.

"You could say that…"

Ash couldn't hold his tears back while he was talking to his mother. He just felt so ashamed.

"Mom, I'm coming home… It's okay right?"

"Of course it's alright. But why do you want to give up on the Aspen League."

"I really don't have any other choice. I'm not going to be able to participate.

"Ash, what's going on? This is so unlike you. You've never quit on a pokemon adventure before."

I don't know if I could tell you. You'll either be really disappointed in me or think I'm crazy."

"I would NEVER think that about you. You're my baby. You're everything to me. What ever it is I promise that I won't think those things of you. I'm just worried about you. You seem really distraught by something."

Ash started to cry even more.

"You promise you'll understand what I'm about to tell you? It's going to sound really insane."

"I promise I'll understand. Just please tell me what's the matter."

Ash took in a really deep breath and shut his eyes.

"Mom…., I'm pregnant." he said. After that there was about 5 seconds of silence.

"Pardon…?"

"I said I'm pregnant!"

He said it so loud that Max heard what he said from the waiting room.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me…" Ash pouted

"Just wait a minute Ash. I never said anything."

"I know. You didn't say anything for a while."

"Well I'm sorry Ash, but I'm just a little in shock here. How could you be pregnant?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I am and a doctor told me so and everything's pointing to that conclusion."

"What do you mean?"

"Lately I've been throwing up, gaining weight, and been having bad stomach craps. Sound a little familiar."

"Oh my god Ash…" she said as she covered her mouth. She went through the same thing when she was pregnant with him. Now she started to cry.

"Mom….?"

"Everything's going to be okay Ash. Just come home. We'll talk about what were going to do when you get here."

"Alright. Thanks Mom."

"Where are you anyway?"

"I'm inside Dr. Lawson's office. He's the doctor looked me over. He even has a grandson who was pregnant like me."

"Really? So he might have suspected this as soon as you told him your symptoms."

"Probably. He checked if something else might have been wrong with me but everything else seems normal. Well almost normal anyway."

"Do you happen to know where the next major city is?"

"Yeah, Dr. Lawson told me that it was a place called Burgundy City."

"Burgundy City? That city has train that heads to Viridian City and back again. If you could get on it you'll be back in no time."

"Yeah, but were really low on money."

"Well I'll buy the tickets for the four of you over the phone. Then you can ask for them at the desk when you get there.

"Really, wow thanks Mom!"

"I love you sweetie." she said as she nodded her head.

"I love you too Mom." Ash said back.

"I'll hopefully see you in a few days. Tell everyone I said 'hi'."

"Okay I will. Good bye Mom."

"Good bye son."

They both hung up the phone. Ash went over to his friends who were still concerned about him.

"You okay Ash?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, I'll be okay once this all sinks in. I talked to my mom and told her the whole situation."

"So it really is true then?" asked Max. "Are you really going to have a baby?"

"Well it looks that way to me."

"Pikachu…" said Pikachu looking up at his trainer.

"My mom says she's gonna call and order us tickets for the Burgundy City Train."

"That's right. It goes straight to Viridian City. Our distance back would be cut a lot shorter." said Brock

"So you're really gonna come back with me Brock?"

"Of course I am. Someone's gotta make healthy meals for ya. I can always study about being a Pokemon breeder back at Pallet Town."

"Max and I are coming too." May said.

"Really? But weren't there contests you wanted to enter in?"

"There will always be other contests. I just wouldn't feel right knowing that you're stuck at home and I'm out doing all these things. If it weren't for you I would have never gotten interested in Pokemon Coordinating if you hadn't gotten me to like Pokemon."

"And there's no way I'm allowed to wonder around by myself around here so I guess I'm coming too." said Max. "I'm sure Professor Oak could teach me a lot of cool things about Pokemon anyway."

"You guys are the best friends anyone could ever have. Thank you all so much."

That night Ash thanked Dr. Lawson for everything he did and apologized for his rudeness. Brock even left a nice snack for the doctor. Lawson said that he would keep in touch with Ash to see how his pregnancy is going.

* * *

The next day Ash and friends arrived in Burgundy City and headed straight for the train station. Brock had made a lunch for everyone so they munched on it while they waited for the train. To Brock's relief, Ash was finally eating something. And it wasn't junk food. May and Max finished their lunches early and decided to have a look around the station a little bit.

"I'm glad to see that you're eating finally."

"Yeah. I'm kinda starving actually."

"Well you eat that all up. After all you're eating for two now."

Ash continued to munch on his sandwich while Brock looked over at May and Max. They were talking to a trainer who had Espeon with them. Ash was just surprised that Brock hadn't tried to flirt with any girls. There were plenty of pretty ones around. There was kind of along silence between the two of them until Ash broke it.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me who I had sex with." he said.

"Well I really didn't think it was the appropriate time you know."

Then there was another long silence.

"Richie's the father."

"What? Richie?"

"Remember that night before we left Pallet? When me and Richie went in my room and we didn't come out for a while? Well that's when we did it."

"So when are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. I'm kinda worried on how he would react."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. From what I've seen from Richie he seems like a really nice guy. And I'm sure he'd help you out anyway he could.

"You really think so?" Ash said as he started to blush.

"You really like him don't you?"

"Uhh……yeah…." he mumbled out, his face completely red now.

"You picked a really good guy. I'm just thankful that it wasn't Gary."

"Uh…what's wrong with Gary?"

"I just think he'd be real immature about it."

"Yeah but he's gotten better over the years don't you think?"

"I guess you're right."

"But I do like Richie a lot more than Gary. And I'm glad that I could have his baby rather than anyone else's."

The alarm sounded that the train was to leave soon. The four friends boarded the train and took there seats. They would arrive at Viridian City in just 3 days. Everyone was gazing out the window as they passed The Red Wood Forest. All except Ash. He couldn't keep his eyes off his stomach. He had noticed that it seemed a little bit bigger than before. He put his hand on it and then thought about what kind of parent he would make. He was also worried about how Professor Oak, Misty, and Tracey were going to react as well.

"Everything alright Ash?" Brock asked.

"Pikachu?" asked the pokemon.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking."

"About the baby?"

"Yeah…. Do you think I'd be a good parent?"

"Sure you will. As long as you love and protect that child then you'll be a great parent."

"Thanks Brock."

As they were talking about what was to come, they didn't notice that three familiar faces boarded the train as well. It was none other than the notorious Team Rocket. They really couldn't hear what Ash and the others were talking about but all they were interested in was stealing Ash's Pikachu.

"Twerps at 5 o' clock." the female of the group, Jessie, whispered.

"And the Pikachu too." said James, the male of the group.

"Once dis train reached Viridian City, well have a trap waiting for dat little bag of electricity." said the team's pokemon, Meowth.

"And then we'll finally get that raise from the boss that we've been waiting for!"

"Yeah!" said both James and Meowth.

* * *

Back in Pallet Town, Delia was getting everything ready for her son's return. She told Professor Oak that Ash was coming home but didn't tell him why. She couldn't believe it. She was going to be a grandmother soon. There were a couple of times were she just had to sit down and cry. She was just so shocked that her baby was having a baby. But she always found the strength to get up again and continue making everything perfect for when Ash gets home. As she was straightening up, there was a knock at the door. But it was way too soon to be Ash. She opened the door and saw Misty and Tracey standing there.

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty said.

"Azu-Azurill!" said her baby pokemon, Azurill.

"Misty! Tracey! What a nice surprise! What brings you here?"

"Well we heard that Ash is coming home from Professor Oak." said Tracey. "Is it really true?"

"Yes. Something came up and he will not be able to participate in the competition."

"But why?" asked Misty

"I think it would be best if Ash told you when he gets here. I really don't want to say anything until then."

"Oh okay. Hey, do you need help straightening up around here?" Tracey asked.

"That's so nice of you to ask but I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all." said Misty. "We'd be happy to help out."

"Oh…thank you both so much." said Delia.

* * *

Three days later, the group finally arrived at Viridian City. When they got off the train, they stopped quickly for a bite to eat and then started heading towards Pallet Town. Ash seemed not as sick as before. He still was throwing up but not as much as he was. But little did this group know, Team Rocket went ahead and set a trap for them.

"We're almost home." Ash said.

"Are you nervous?" May asked.

"Oh yeah. My stomach feels like it's tied in knots."

"Pika-pi..." said Pikachu trying to comfort Ash while up on his shoulder.

"Try not to worry so much." Brock advised. "It's not good for you or the baby. Sure it might be a little awkward at first but it'll all settle down. You'll see."

"I sure hope so. I'm just hoping that everyone will underst…."

Ash's sentence was cut short when he stepped on a pile of leaves and fell into a hole that was under them.

"Waaah!" the group screamed as the fell in.

"Ow…what happened?" asked Max.

"We fell in a hole, duh!" May said.

Ash was moaning a little.

"Ash! Are you alright?" Brock said worrying that Ash may have gotten hurt.

"Uh…yeah I'm fine. Just a little surprised."

It wasn't long afterwards that they heard someone laughing at them. The group new right away who dug the hole for them.

* * *

Uh-oh... wonder who wouldput that hole there? Find out next time if your stupid enough to not realize who it was. 


	3. Brock's Concern

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Pokemon or its characters**

yay for chap 3! no summary... just read it.

**

* * *

**

Brock's Concern

Ash and his friends weren't even in Viridian City for whole hour before they fell into another one of Team Rockets trap. The team started to cackle at the group's misfortune and recited their all to predictable motto.

"_Prepare for trouble, you fell for out trap."_ recited Jessie

"_Make it double, now that's a wrap."_ recited James.

"_An evil as old as the galaxy…"_

"_Sent here to fulfill our destiny…"_

"_Don't forget me!"_ Meowth joined in.

"Ugh. It's them." Ash said to himself.

"_To denounce the evils of truth and love…"_

"_To extend our reach to the stars above…"_

"_Jessie!"_

"_James!"_

"_And my name's Meowth!"_

"_Wherever there's peace in the universe…"_

"_Team Rocket…"_

"_Will be there…"_

"_To make everything worse!"_ they all said together.

"_WOBBUFFET!"_ interrupted Jessie's pokemon Wobbuffet.

"TEAM ROCKET!" the group exclaimed.

"PI-PIKACHU!" yelled Pikachu.

"Nice to see you all again. It's been a long while." Jessie said.

"Not long enough if you ask me." said Brock.

"What do you want this time?" Ash demanded.

"After all these years, you'd think you already know what we want." said James.

"We're here fo da Pikachoo!" yelled Meowth.

"You're not taking him!" Ash said as he grasped Pikachu in his arms.

"We'll see about that." Jessie smirked. "Meowth, you know what to do!"

"Right!" Meowth said as he pulled out a remote control. He pushed a large red button on it with his paw. Then a strange looking machine pulled up. It wasn't a very large machine. It was about 3 feet tall with a large metal disc reaching off the top of it. "It's time to go Pikacho." Then he pressed a green button and the large metal disc started to give off magnetic waves. The waves were strong enough to start to pull Pikachu toward it.

"Pika-pi!" shouted Pikachu.

"Don't worry Pikachu! I'm not letting go of you!" said Ash. The magnet was so powerful that it started to pull Ash up with Pikachu.

"Ash!" shouted Brock, May, and Max. Brock latched on to one of Ash's legs and May to the other. Then Max latched on to May's leg. Despite all that weight the magnet still managed to pull everyone out of the pit. Ash and the others gained traction on the ground and tried to keep their footing.

"You're NOT taking Pikachu from me!"

"Ugh! Don't you guys ever quit!" yelled Jessie. "Go, Seviper!" she called as she threw her pokeball.

"SEVVVVIPERRRRR!" said the large snake pokemon as it came out of the ball.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" commanded Jessie.

"Seevvviiperrr!" the pokemon said as it slammed its massive tail against the trainers.

"Aaahh!" screamed the trainers. The force was so powerful it sent them flying and finally separated Ash from Pikachu. Ash and the others were knocked out cold. Now the giant magnet was able to snatch up Pikachu with no trouble at all.

"Wow this thing works great!" James implied.

"It's about time we bought something that was worth all of our money!" Jessie said as she pulled out a little electric proof cage. Meowth turned of the magnet so that Jessie could pull off Pikachu and put him in the cage. Pikachu was too stunned to do anything at this point.

"Now lets scram!" Meowth said.

"Right!" Jessie and James said at the same time.

Team Rocket was able to run off into the forest and disappear. By the time Ash and the others came to, Team Rocket were long gone.

"Uhh…Pika…chu?" Ash said trying to wake up. "Pikachu?" The others started to wake up as well.

"Ash, are you hurt?" asked Brock.

"They got away with Pikachu! I have to go after them!" Ash was ready to go run after them but was stopped when Brock grabbed hold of his arm.

"Wait a second!" said Brock.

"Lemme go Brock! There gonna get away!"

"Do I need to remind you of your condition?" he asked. "You're pregnant. You shouldn't be stressing yourself out like this."

"But if I don't do anything I'll never see Pikachu again!"

"Look, I'll go after Team Rocket and bring Pikachu back. It's not safe for you to go after them right now."

Ash stared a Brock for a little and started to clench his teeth in anger. But then he realized that Brock was just concerned for his and the baby's safety.

"….Alright then. I'll wait here."

Brock gave Ash a little smile of relief and then called out his pokemon, Marshtomp.

"Marshtomp! I choose you!"

"MARSH!" said Marshtomp as he emerged from his pokeball.

"Marshtomp. I need you to try and see if you can feel the vibrations coming from Team Rocket's voices.

"Marsh!"

Marshtomp can use the fin on top of its head to detect slight vibrations coming from either humans or other pokemon. It wasn't long before he was able to filter out Team Rocket's voices.

"Marshtomp!" he said as he pointed to Viridian Forest.

"Good work Marshtomp! Lead the way." Brock said.

With that Brock and Marshtomp disappeared into the forest with Ash and the others left behind. Meanwhile, Team Rocket was trying to figure a way out of the forest. Pikachu was still trying to zap himself out of the cage but with little result.

"Pika….CHUUUU!" he cried as he gave another Thunder Bolt from inside the cage.

"Ya just wastin' ya energy pal!" mocked Meowth. "That cage is 100 shock proof!"

"Well James, how do we get out of here?" Jessie asked.

"Uh…I though Meowth new the way out." said James nervously.

"Eh! Why would I know da way out?" Meowth said.

Jessie then slapped the two of them upside the head.

"OW!" they both shouted.

"You idiots! How could you not know the way out of here?" she screamed.

"Well if you're so smart, then why don't cho know da way oudda here!" yelled Meowth."

"Team Rocket!" a voice shouted.

"Huh?" they all said as they looked up and saw Brock standing just feet away from them.

"Hey, it's the big twerp." said James.

"Pika-chu!" said Pikachu happy to see Brock.

"So came all by yourself did you?" Jessie asked. "Now why didn't the captain of the twerps show up? That's so unlike him."

"Maybe he doesn't care what happens to you Pikachoo."

"Pika?"

"That's not true!" yelled Brock. "Today it's just gonna be you and me!"

"Marshtomp!" yelled his pokemon.

"Fine by me." Jessie said with a sinister laugh. "Seviper! Go!"

"Seevvviperrr!"

"Cacnea! I choose you!" James commanded.

"CACNEA!" shouted the pokemon. As usual it quickly turned around back at James and tried to hug him.

"Not again!" James yelled. "Attack the enemy!"

"So it's a two on two battle that you want." said Brock. "Then I'll use Marshtomp and Foretress!" he said as he threw out another pokemon releasing his other pokemon, Foretress.

Back outside the forest, Ash was pacing back and forward waiting for Brock to return. He had been gone for a while and Ash was becoming more nervous by the minute.

"Ash calm down." said May. "You'll give yourself a heart attack if you keep that up.

"I can't calm down. He's taking too long. What if something happened?"

"I'm sure he's fine Ash." said Max. "Brock can take care of himself you know."

Ash started to clench his fist really tight. He had a decision to make; to stay put and keep himself and the baby safe, or to go after Team Rocket and try to help save Pikachu.

"Sorry Brock…" Ash said as he pulled a pokeball from his pocket. "Sceptile! I choose you!"

"Sceptile!" the pokemon said. Once he came out of the ball, it stuck a twig in his mouth.

"ASH!" May yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'll be back, don't worry" he said as he climbed on to Sceptile's back. "Head for that forest Sceptile!"

"Sceptile!" agreed Sceptile.

In less than a second, Sceptile jumped into the air and made his way towards the Viridian Forest at a fast speed. To fast for May or Max to catch up with.

"Oh that Ash is so stubborn!" May grunted. "Now what will we do?"

"Well all we can do is either stay here or try to follow them." Max told her.

"Well I guess the right thing to do would be to try and follow them. Let's go."

Meanwhile, Brock was in a heated battle with both Jessie and James.

"Cacnea! Use Pin Missile!" commanded James.

"Cacnea!" responded the pokemon with a barrage of needles aimed straight for Foretress.

"Foretress! Use Rapid Spin to repel those needles!" said Brock.

"Forretress!" said the pokemon. It went inside its massive steal shell and started to spin at an incredible speed causing the needles to be faulted. Unfortunately, Brock was too distracted to notice that Jessie issued an attack against Marshtomp.

"Seviper! Use your Poison Tail to take out Marshtomp!" she said.

"Seevviperrrrrr!" it said as it swatted its massive tail directly towards Marshtomp. By the time Marshtomp saw it coming, it was too late.

"Mmmarsh!" the fish pokemon cried out in pain.

"Uh Marshtomp!" gasped Brock.

"Now Cacnea!" shouted James. "While he's distracted! Use Needle Arm on Foretress!"

"CACNE-AA!" it's said as it swung its needle covered arm at Foretress. But then it was suddenly stopped by someone.

"Sceptile! Use Bullet Seed!"

Team Rocket couldn't see who or what was attacking them. All they could see was a silhouette of a pokemon in up in the trees and a number of seeds being fired at them. They were enough to stun the pokemon and annoy the heck out of Team Rocket.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! What's going on?" barked Jessie.

"It's rain'n seeds or something!" yelled Meowth.

It was none other than Ash and Sceptile of course. Sceptile jumped down off the tree with Ash still on his back and landed right in front of Brock.

"Team Rocket!" Ash screamed. "You're gonna pay for what you did!"

"Pika-pi!" said a delighted Pikachu.

"Well look who finally decided to show up…" Jessie smirked.

"Hey Brock, are you alright?" he asked.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Brock asked quietly yet angrily. "I told you to stay put!"

Then James whispered something in Jessie's ear.

"Uh hey Jess. Doesn't the twerp seem like he's gotten a bit…. fatter?"

"What do I care what he looks like! We're not gonna let him take back Pikachu! SEVIPER! Use Bite Attack!"

"SEVVIPERR!" hissed the snake pokemon.

"Sceptile! LEAF BLADE!" shouted Ash.

"Scept...ILE!" he screeched. The leaves on his arms formed as blades and then slashed at Seviper. This sent the snake flying at Jessie.

"AAAHH!" she screamed.

When she fell, she dropped the pokeball containing her Wobbuffet causing it to come out.

"WOBBBUFFET!" it shouted.

"Oh Wobbuffet! I didn't want you to come out!

"WWOBB!"

"Cacnea!" said James. "Use your Pin Missile again."

"Cacne-a!"

"Foretress! Use Take Down!" Brock commanded.

"Forretress!" said Foretress. It withdrew into its shell once more and plowed into Cacnea.

"CAC!" it yelled as it knocked into James who then knocked into Jessie and her pokemon.

"Waah!" they all yelled. Now all that was left was Meowth standing by the cage that Pikachu is in.

"Hehhh…" Meowth said nervously.

"Use Leaf Blade to cut open that cage Sceptile!" said Ash.

"Scept!"

"Daahh!" Meowth screamed trying to avoid the Leaf Blade. Sceptile was able to slice off a small portion of the cage so Pikachu could crawl out.

"Pika-pi!" he said as he ran for his friend.

"Pikachu! Glad to see your alright!"

"Pika!"

"Now why don't we finish them off?" Use Thunder!"

"PIIIKA…CHUU!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Team Rocket cried as they were getting shocked. Then came the big explosion that sent them into the air.

"Well that worked out great!" screamed Jessie.

"Guess it wasn't our lucky day!" whined James.

"But some day it will be!" Meowth said.

"Wobbbuffet!" interrupted the Wobbuffet.

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" they all shouted as they became a star in the sky.

"Well that was close." Ash said.

"Pikachu…"

"Sorry Pikachu. I hope you didn't think I wasn't worried about you."

"Pika…" he said as he shook his head.

"Ash this has got to stop!" Brock interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Pi?"

"Hey guys!" shouted May and Max.

"We finally caught up to you." May said as she was trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry Brock, he got away from us." Max said.

"All I asked was for you to stay with May and Max! You couldn't just sit out of a battle with Team Rocket just this once? Something could of happened to you!"

"Well nothing happened to me now did it? Besides, you were in serious trouble before I showed up!"

"That's not the point!

"Ahh…" May and Max said as they hugged each other. They've never seen Brock this angry before.

"You can't be jumping into battles like this anymore! You're carrying a child inside you! It's time to stop being selfish and start being more protective of that baby!"

"You think me wanting to save Pikachu is selfish? It wasn't about the battle! It was about Pikachu! And if you think just cause I'm having a baby means that I'm gonna ignore Pikachu than your dead wrong!"

"I didn't mean it like that! I'm just worried about your safety."

"Are you really worried about me or is it just the baby? Cause you've never been this protective of me before! You always let me go after Team Rocket myself! You don't care about me…"

Ash turned away from Brock and crossed his arms. Brock just stood frozen. Ash thought that he didn't care about him and it was just the baby he was worried about.

"That's not true Ash…"

"Is that so….uh!" Ash was then struck with an overwhelming pain in his stomach. "Aaaahhh!" He wrapped his arms around his midsection and fell to his knees.

"ASH!" Brock screamed. May and Max gasped as well.

"PIKA-PI!" yelled a horrified Pikachu.

"So….much….PAIN!" Ash cried before he collapsed on the ground. Brock immediately rushed over and held him.

"Ash? Speak to me! Say something!"

"Pikachu!"

"He needs help!" said May.

"Yeah but where do we go?" asked Max. "There's no hospital around here!"

"No, but there is a Pokemon Center!" said Brock. "It's our only hope!"

The group ran frantically in the direction of the Pokemon Center. It really wasn't a place where they take care of humans but it would have to do. Ash was in trouble. Brock carried him in his arms the whole way. He could here Ash whimper from the pain he was in.

* * *

It was a quiet day at this particular pokemon center. Like all pokemon centers, it's run by one of the many Nurse Joys. She hadn't done much that day, just bandaged up a few pokemon with minor injuries. Now the place was empty and Joy was going to go on a short break. That is until Brock in the others charged in.

"Huh?" said Nurse Joy as she heard the door swing open.

"Nurse Joy!" shouted Brock.

"What is it?" she asked

"It's our friend Nurse Joy!" explained May.

Nurse Joy looked at Brock and saw that he was holding a younger boy. When she got a good look, she realized that she knew this boy.

"Oh my goodness! It's Ash!"

"You know him?" Max asked.

"Yes. He came here a long time ago when his Pikachu was injured." Nurse Joy reached over the counter and felt Ash's forehead. "What happened to him?"

"You're probably not going to believe this but…he's pregnant." Brock said.

"What?"

"It's true! I know it sounds unbelievable but he is. You gotta help him and the baby!"

"Alright, alright. Just please remain calm. Chansey, please bring a bed in here."

"Chansey!" said the egg like pokemon.

Within a few minutes Chansey came back with the bed. Then Joy asked for Brock to put Ash down on it. Then Chansey wheeled him into the emergency room.

"Please Nurse Joy." Brock pleaded. "Take good care of him."

"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can."

Nurse Joy then left with Chansey back to the emergency room. Once there she washed her hands and began examining. Then all of a sudden, Ash came to.

"Uuhhhh…." he said weakly.

"Uh, you're awake." she said.

"Nurse….Joy…?

"Are you alright?"

"My stomach hurts real badly….OW!" he yelled as another sharp pain hit him."

"Just try to relax Ash."

"My baby! You gotta help my baby! I think something's wrong!"

"Baby?"

"Please….help…my baby..." he begged as he started to fade out of consciousness again.

Was it really true? Was this boy lying in front of her REALLY pregnant? She had to see for herself.

In the lobby, the others were eagerly waiting for Nurse Joy to come back with good news, especially Pikachu. This was probably the only time that he was on the other side of the E.R. door waiting for his trainer to be okay instead of the other way around. Pikachu sat by the two big doors in worry.

"Pika…pi…" he said.

"Don't worry Pikachu." said Max trying to cheer Pikachu up. "He'll be okay, you'll see."

But nobody probably felt as bad as Brock did. As he was sitting on the bench, he sat there hunched over with his eyes fixed on the clock. It seems that not even an explosion would get his attention. He then stated to bite his bottom lip and kept fumbling with his hands. Finally May decided to say something.

"Hey…Brock..?" she asked. "Are you…"

"It's all my fault." he blurted out. "If I hadn't upset him like that, this never would have happened."

"Don't blame yourself Brock. It's not like you wanted this to happen."

"All I wanted to do was protect him. But instead…I might of…." He trailed off his sentence as he started to cry. Then he put his hands over his face so May wouldn't see.

"Don't think like that!" May exclaimed. "You were only trying to help him. And you may have overreacted a little but your intentions were good." May moved over and put her hand on Brock's back. "You did a great job taking care of Ash the past few days and you should be proud of yourself. I know I am."

"Ash thought that it was only the baby I was worried about and not him."

"Sometimes when we are really mad we blurt out things that we really don't mean. I'm sure Ash doesn't really think that. I mean, you didn't mean it when you called him selfish, did you?"

"Of course not. I think Ash is one of the most selfless people on the planet. He's always thinking of others. Like what he did for me and Pikachu today."

Brock then stood up and walked around for a few seconds before he pounded his fist into the wall.

"Ugh! Why did I say that? I'm so stupid!"

"You're not stupid Brock! We all make mistakes. I know, I've made a lot of them. But right now, you gotta stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on."

"You're right May. It isn't about me right now. I should be praying that Ash and the baby are going to be all right and keep believing that they'll pull through."

"That's what I want to here." May said with a smile.

"Hey, thanks May. I really needed to talk to someone."

"You're welcome."

Meanwhile, Nurse Joy brought out an ultra sound machine normally used to see if pokemon have suffered any internal injuries. But today she was going to use it to see if there was in fact a baby inside Ash who was still unconscious.

"Now let's see if you really are pregnant or you're just playing a big joke on me."

Nurse Joy pulled up Ash's shirt and noticed right away something was out of the ordinary. His stomach wasn't really big but it was becoming round. It's kind of like what she has seen on a woman who was 2 month pregnant. Then she got out some strange jelly like substance and spread it all over Ash's stomach with a sponge. Then she took the probe of the ultra sound machine and started to move it all around his torso. 5 minutes went by and still nothing. She was about to give up until she saw something on the screen. When she got a better look she realized that she was looking at a small fetus.

"Oh my gosh…he really is pregnant.

She immediately checked if everything was alright with it. It had a normal heartbeat and was around a good normal size. Everything seemed fine. But see still needed to figure out what was making Ash's stomach hurt so bad.

Back out in the lobby, the others were still nervously waiting for Nurse Joy to finish up with Ash. Then they all saw the light above the emergency room doors go off; meaning that she was finished. They all gasped and gathered towards the door. Nurse Joy emerges.

"How is he Nurse Joy?" asked Brock

"Ash is going to be just fine!" she said. "And so is the unborn baby. I saw it with the pokemon center's ultra sound machine and everything seems normal."

"So you actually got to see the baby?" asked Brock.

"Yes. I admit I was a bit skeptical at first which is why I used it to find the baby."

"That's so awesome!" May said.

"Pikachu!" said Pikachu with delight.

"Now how would you like to all go see Ash now?"

"Sure!" they all said at once.

Ash was barely waking up when his friends all entered the room. He also realized that his stomach didn't hurt anymore.

"Ash…you have visitors."

"Uh…huh?" murmured Ash

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said as he jumped by Ash's side.

"Uh hey Buddy!" he said as scratched the top of Pikachu's head.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Uh….yeah.. Much better…" he said still sounding a little tired.

"So what was wrong with him?" asked Max.

"He just had a real bad case stomach cramps. But I gave him some medicine to help his stomach muscles to relax."

"Nurse Joy is my baby okay?" asked Ash.

"Yes, yes." she said. "The muscle cramps didn't affect your baby at all. It'll be just fine."

"That's great. Thank you Nurse Joy!"

"My pleasure." she smiled.

Nurse Joy left the room for the time being so that the friends could talk.

"Hey Ash, Nurse Joy told us that she saw your baby." said May.

"She did?"

"Yeah, she said she used some sort of machine to look at it while you were asleep." said Max.

"Go figure I was asleep. I really would have liked to see it too."

Ash just noticed that Brock was standing by the door quietly. He had a slight smile on his face.

"Uh…hey Brock? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah…" he said as he approached Ash's bedside.

"Look what I said back there…I didn't mean it. I know that you worried not only for the baby but for me as well. I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

"No…I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. And I'm also sorry for calling you selfish. That was really out of line. I'm just so glad that you and the baby are going to be okay. And I'll also try not to smother you so much."

"So are we friends?"

"Yeah…were friends."

The two boys gave each other a friendly smile. Hopefully this experience helped them understand each other a bit more. Just then, Nurse Joy walked back into the room.

"Ash. I have a surprise for you." she said.

"Really? What is it?

Nurse Joy had a yellow file folder in her hand. She opened it up and inside was these funny looking black sheets of paper.

"These are pictures of your baby I took with the ultra sound machine." she said as she handed them over to Ash.

"Wow….that's my baby?" he wondered. "It's so small… It kinda looks like a gummy bear."

"Look. You can even see its tiny hands and feet." May commented.

"It's really amazing isn't it Ash?" asked Brock.

"Yeah it is." he laughed slightly. "Hey Pikachu, would you like to see?"

"Pika!" said Pikachu in agreement.

"Right now you are in the second part of your first trimester." said Nurse Joy. "The baby has still got a lot of growing to do."

"Do you know when it's going to be born?" asked Ash.

"Well since you're in your second month, I'd say about 7 months from now."

Ash continued to stare at the pictures with Pikachu looking as well.

"I wish Richie could be here to see this…" Ash said quietly.

Later that day, Ash and friends thanked and said goodbye to Nurse Joy. She gave Ash the medication she used to get rid of his stomach cramps incase it happened again. Now there next destination was Ash's home town of Pallet which was just beyond the horizon.

* * *

r&r 


	4. Returning Home

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own pokemon or its characters**

Here's chapt 4

As the title says, Ash comes home and he still needs to tell Professor Oak his condition. How will he react? Read...

**

* * *

**

**Returning Home**

Night time fell and the group finally arrived in Pallet Town. Ash felt nervous again as he reached the porch of his house. He had to stop for a moment and take a deep breath.

"It'll be alright Ash." Brock reassured.

"Yeah I know. I just gotta calm down a little. ……Okay I'm ready."

Ash opened the door to his home and walked in. The others followed. They didn't see anyone at first.

"Mom…? Are you here…?"

Then they saw someone come out of the kitchen, but it wasn't Ash's mother. It was her pokemon, Mr. Mime.

"Mime…?" he said.

"Hey Mr. Mime!" Ash said. "Is my mom around?"

"Mime!" the pokemon said as he pointed up the stairs. Ash walked up to them and called for his mom again.

"Hey mom, I home!"

Just then he heard his mother's voice.

"Is that you Ash?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

She then emerged at the top of the stairs and then ran down them as fast as she could.

"My baby's home!" she yelled. She wrapped her arms around Ash and gave him a gentle hug. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too Mom!"

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum!" said Ash's friends.

"Oh hello everyone! It's so nice to see you all again."

"It's nice to see you as well." Brock commented.

"Wow. The place looks really nice Mrs. Ketchum." said May.

"Well I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect for my little boy's return. Also Professor Oak, Misty, and Tracey will be coming here tonight to welcome you home Ash."

"They are? …..Do they know..?"

"No. I didn't feel it was right for them to here it from me. I want you to tell them when you feel comfortable with it."

"Oh okay."

"So were you planning to cook anything for the evening?" asked Brock.

"Well…I was just considering getting some take out. I was kind of busy cleaning up around here that I forgot to make something."

"I could probably whip something up real quickly." offered Brock.

"Oh Brock, you don't have to do that. I don't want you to go to the trouble."

"Believe me, it would be my pleasure. It's no trouble at all."

"That's so nice of you Brock. Why not. Thank you!"

Within a few minutes Brock threw on an apron and started preparing everything. He asked May and Max to take a quit run down to the mini mart to by some groceries for him. Meanwhile he started to cook what he had.

"Wow, Brock is like super man or something." Ash commented.

"Ash would it be alright if I talk to you upstairs?" his mother asked.

"Uh…sure okay."

Of course he already knew what she wanted to talk about. Ash sat at the end of his mother's bed and she sat next to him.

"Have you been alright since we last spoke to each other?"

"Uh…yeah I've been fine. Just a few cramps here and there but otherwise, fine."

"I didn't want to ask this over the phone so I should ask it now. How in the world did you get pregnant in the first place?"

"Uh…!" this was the question that Ash was scared to answer. "Well…like how any woman would get pregnant."

"You had…sex? With a man?"

"Yes ma'am…."

"Oh Ash, I thought we had this talk about protection! Of course I never thought it'd be you who'd become pregnant."

"I know we talked about it but… it happened so fast and was so unexpected that…"

"Who was it?

"A…huh?

"Who did you have sex with?"

"Well….um…?"

"Tell me Ash! This is important!"

Ash didn't want to say it but it seemed like he had no other choice.

"It was Richie…"

"Richie? You mean the one we know?"

"I don't know any other…"

Delia stopped for a moment and put her hand over her eyes. She started to cry again as the reality of the situation hit her. She sat quietly.

"Mom, please don't cry… It'll be okay."

"This is all just so overwhelming… The two of you are just so young… You have no idea how hard it is to take care of a baby that completely depends on you to live. Your father and I struggled so much to make ends meet when I was pregnant with you. My mother kicked me out of our home when she found out. I was only 16. And I never wanted you to go through what I did."

"I'm sure Richie and I can handle it. I know we're young but… that's no reason why we can't do it."

"Does Richie even know about this?"

"Eh…no…"

"Well let's just hope he's going to be responsible about this and help you out. You need to tell him as soon as possible."

"Yeah I know…"

"And don't worry. There's no way I'd ever do to you what my mother did to me. Even though you should have used protection, I understand that this was an unusual outcome."

"So you're not mad that I'm gay?"

"Of course not! You're my son. I could never be mad at who you are. If your interested in other guys than that's fine. I love you all the same."

"Gee…thanks mom…" he said as he started to tear up. "For everything. You're the best mom in the world. And I mean that a lot."

Ash grabbed on to his mother and started to hug her. She wrapped her arms around him as well.

"Don't worry about it. I'll help you out anyway that I can. It's what mothers do. And when you have your child, you'll understand how it feels to love someone so much that you'd do anything for them."

"I'm sure I will…" he said as he wiped the tears from his face.

"I'm just wondering how we could get you some care without attracting too much attention."

"Well, the doctor I saw has my information. He'll probably call me back soon. And I'm sure Professor Oak could help us some how…"

"I supposed so….Oh my! The professor should be here any minute! I should see how Brock's doing."

"Heh…alright mom!"

* * *

Down stairs, Brock had almost finished up with the dinner he was preparing. May and Max were setting the table.

"Oh my goodness." Delia said in surprise. "This is so beautiful!"

"Thanks!" Max said. "Brock's practically done with all the cooking. We'll start bringing the food out."

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Oh that must be them!" Delia said.

"Don't worry, I'll get it!" May said. She headed for the door and opened it. There was Professor Oak accompanied by Misty and Tracey who were holding each other in a loving way. "Hi everyone!"

"Hello May!" said Professor Oak. "It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too! Well come on in."

"Is that Brock's cooking I smell?" asked Misty.

"Sure is." May answered.

"It smells awesome!" Tracey commented.

They entered the dining room and began to greet each other after a 2 month separation. Ash was still a little nervous to speak to them.

"Ah there you are Ash." said the professor. "Welcome back! Have you been doing okay?"

"Uh…yeah. Okay I guess. Thanks"

"Hm…What's wrong? You don't seem like your normal self."

"Uhm I'll tell you after dinner."

"Alright Everyone!" Brock announced. "Take a seat and get ready for the most delicious meal you'll ever have."

Everyone gathered round the table and took there seats. Brock had made a lot of good food today and the group couldn't wait to eat it. The aroma was delicious enough alone. They didn't even need to taste it.

"I'd like to thank Brock for making this wonderful meal for us!" said Delia. "Thank you so much. You did a wonderful job as usual." The others joined in saying thanks as well.

"Heh…you're all too kind." he said while blushing.

Once that was taken care of, they all began to eat. There was even some food that Brock prepared just for the pokemon.

"Wow Brock this is really good!" Misty said. "This is probably one of your best creations yet."

"You really think so? It was just something I made up really fast."

"Even so, it's definitely exquisite." said Professor Oak. "You really have a knack for this kind of thing."

"Pika!" said Pikachu.

After dinner, it seemed like Ash was trying to avoid Professor Oak so he wouldn't have to tell him about why he dropped out of the Aspen League. Ash stepped outside for a moment to get a breath of fresh air. Pikachu followed.

"Oh boy… I don't know how I'm gonna do this." he said.

"Pika-pika…" said his Pikachu.

"I know that it probably be best if I just got it over with and just flat out told him, but still…. I just don't know what he'd say."

"Pikachu…"

"Ugh…I can't keep getting scared like this. They're gonna find out sooner or later so I might as well say something now. Let's go Pikachu."

"Pika!"

When he walked back into the living room he saw Professor Oak, Misty, and Tracey talking to May and Max about how the Aspen Region was. They really couldn't tell them how it was because they really didn't do anything there. Then the professor noticed Ash approaching.

"Oh Ash. There you are." he said.

"Hey guys." said Ash. "What's up?"

"Well, I've been meaning to ask you why you decided to exit the Aspen League so soon. You didn't even get your first badge there."

"That is kind of unlike you Ash." commented Tracey. "I don't ever recall you quitting on a competition before."

"Well it's not like I wanted to quit. I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean when you say 'I didn't have a choice'?" added Misty.

"Okay, you really wanna know why I left?"

"Yes." they all said at the same time.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to seem very strange and you probably won't believe me at first."

"Ash, just tell us." said the professor. "It couldn't be that unbelievable."

"You have no idea." Brock thought to himself as he was over hearing the conversation."

"The reason why I dropped out is because…." There was a defining silence before Ash answered. Brock, Pikachu, Delia, May, and Max looked on with anticipation. "….is because…… I'm pregnant."

The three of them stood there with there mouths wide open. It took a second for one of them to say something.

"Excuse me..?" said Professor Oak. "I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Did you just say that you were…. pregnant?" Misty asked.

"Yes…. I take it you don't believe me."

"Well Ash…. It's just physically impossible for you to be pregnant." said Tracey.

"Well I am okay!" he shouted.

They all looked at Ash a little reluctantly. Then Brock felt he had to step in and talk to them.

"It really is true." said Brock. "During our journey, Ash came down with morning sickness. We didn't know at first of course. But when we visited this one doctor, he told us that Ash was pregnant."

"Oh he did, did he?" said Professor Oak in disbelief. "And what was the name of this 'doctor'?"

"His name was Dr. Lawson." said Ash.

"Lawson…? Dr. IVAN Lawson?"

"Yeah. You sound like you know him."

"He was a friend of mine for years. But recently I've lost contact with him. He was the one who delivered my own son when he was born. Now why would he even think that a boy could get pregnant?"

"Because it happened to his grandson." said Ash. "He showed us pictures and everything when he was pregnant. He told me that there was about one billionth of a chance it could happen but it did and it happened to me. Even Nurse Joy said I was pregnant."

"Look, there's no reason for us to make this up, am I right?" said Brock.

"Hmm…. you do have a point there." said the professor.

"So Ash… you really are pregnant?" asked Misty.

"Yep…"

"So how are you taking all this?" asked Tracey.

"Well… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. However there's no way out of the situation so I have to stand up and face it like I do everything else."

"That's really mature of you Ash." said Misty. "You've definitely changed a lot from the kid you use to be."

"Well I guess I'm not a kid anymore. I'm going to be a father soon… or mother… what ever. Either way my life is now going to be dedicated to my child."

Ash continued to explain the whole situation to everyone throughout the night. He even showed the pictures of the baby that Nurse Joy gave him to his mother and the others. From this point on, the Ketchum Family would be changed forever.

* * *

The next day Ash would try to figure out where in Kanto was Richie. He made a few calls to some Pokemon Centers to see if he may have checked in there but with no luck. Some other places did say that they have seen Richie but not for about a week or two. After about 50 calls later he decided to take a break.

"Oh boy…" Ash sighed.

"Any luck honey?" asked his mother bringing a cup of cocoa.

"Nope. No one down in the battle frontier has seen him lately. They heard that he one a Frontier Symbol from Tucker but that's about it." Ash stopped talking so he could take a sip of the cocoa.

"Well don't worry too much about it Ash. I'm sure we'll find him soon."

"I'm kinda worried of what will happen when I do find him. What's he gonna say?"

"Pika…pi.." said Pikachu trying to comfort his trainer.

"Oh Ash…"

"I think I'm going to go for a short walk. After all, I'll be too big to take walks in public in a few months."

"Do you need anyone to come with you?"

"Just Pikachu is fine. Let's go Buddy."

"Pika." he said as he jumped on Ash's shoulder.

The two went outside and started to walk down the path that Ash would always head down when he started his journeys. Just a couple of months ago he walked down it to hopefully compete in the Aspen League. But now he wasn't sure that he'd ever go on another journey ever again. Not unless he planned to take a baby with him. And he felt that a pokemon journey was no place for a baby to be.

It was a slightly windy day today. But the breeze felt good to Ash. He decided to stop for a little break and sat on a nearby boulder. Pikachu sat next to him.

"I think that our pokemon journeys are over Pikachu."

"Pika…?" he questioned.

"With this baby, there's no way I'll be able to travel anymore. I'll have to stay home and take care of it." he said as he placed both of his hands on his growing stomach.

"Pika…"

"So much for my dream of becoming the world's greatest pokemon master."

"Pika..pi…"

"You'll stay by my side. Won't you Pikachu?"

"Pika!" he said happily raising his tiny paw in the air.

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you."

Ash didn't notice but Brock was approaching him from behind. When he heard Ash left for a walk, he decided to go and check up on him.

"Hey." he said.

"Uh… Brock? What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check up on you. How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. I've just had a lot on my mind today."

"I can imagine. You do have a lot to think about."

"I just don't know if I could do it all."

"I'm sure you can. You just gotta believe in yourself is all."

"I guess…"

"And don't worry. I'll be there to help you also. And so will your mother and the others."

"Pikachu."

"Thanks Brock. For everything you did for me. Even before my pregnancy. You've been on journeys with me much longer than anyone else has. And you've always been the one who took care of us. You're a true friend."

"No problem. It's what friends do right?"

"Yeah." he said while chuckling a little.

"Well I'll be heading back now. If you want you could come back with me or continue your walk."

"I think I'm ready to go home now as well. Okay."

The two headed back to the house talking about old times. When they got back, Delia had already prepared lunch. Today, Ash had his unusual cravings. His mother made her famous chili-dog pizza pot pie which Ash wanted to put chocolate ice cream on top of. May and Max kind of stared at him strangely as he downed the whole thing quickly. After lunch, Ash felt a little tired and decided to take a nap. But he still had a lot to think about. Like what would happen in the future for him and his baby.

* * *

XD Ash and his weird cravings! r&r please


	5. Enter Dr Carter

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Pokemon yadda yadda yadda...**

Well here is chapt 5 Read and have fun

**

* * *

**

**Enter Dr. Carter**

A month had passed since Ash returned home from the Aspen league. He was officially in his 2nd trimester and was beginning to show. He was also experiencing mood swings and would some times lash out at someone for the smallest reason. But then he'd feel bad about it later on and apologize. But despite being home for a while, Ash still couldn't locate Richie in the Battle Frontier. He started to begin worrying that something might have happened to him. Today he decided to comfort himself a little with a huge piece of chocolate cake. May happened to be walking by the kitchen as Ash was frantically eating it.

"Uh… hey Ash. Are you okay?" she asked.

"Do I look okay to you?" he snapped as his mouth was full of cake.

"Sorry." she said sarcastically. "Just asking."

"Damn Richie! Why does he have to make me worry like this? Why doesn't he contact me?"

"Well it's not like he knows you're here. He probably thinks your still traveling in the Aspen Region."

Ash didn't even respond to May and continued eating the cake. But she understood that Ash was clearly having another one of his mood swings.

"Just try to take it easy. Okay Ash?"

"Fine."

May exited the kitchen and then walked down the all where she ran into to Brock who happened to be taking out the laundry. Brock noticed that May seemed angry.

"Hey May what's the matter?" he asked.

"Oh it's Ash! He's just being such a creep lately! I only ask him how he's doing and then he chews me up about it."

"I know he's been a little moody lately, but try not to let it get to you. With the pregnancy and not being able to find Richie it can be really frustrating for him."

"Yes I know. I just hope he goes out of this faze soon."

A few more hours had passed and there was a knock at the door.

I'll get it!" shouted Max.

He looked out the window of the door and saw a young man standing there. He was kind of tall and had glasses on. He had brown hair which he kept back in a pony tail. Not knowing who he was, he told Mrs. Ketchum about it.

"Hey Mrs. Ketchum some guy's at the door."

"Really? I wonder what he wants."

She opened the door for the young man.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes, I'm looking for a boy named Ash Ketchum?" he asked

"And just who might you be?"

"Well my name is Dr. Neil Carter. Almost a month ago, Ash visited my grandfather's medical office were he was diagnosed as being pregnant."

"So you're the grandson of Dr. Lawson?" asked Max.

"To put it simply, yes." he said with a smile. "I came here in order to give Ash some prenatal care."

"That's so wonderful." said Delia. "I was wondering who I could get to help take care of Ash."

Delia and Max introduced themselves to the doctor and welcomed him in. Ash happened to be helping Brock fold up the laundry he washed. Delia brought the doctor into the laundry room to introduce him to Ash.

"Hello Ash." Dr. Carter said. "I've wanted to meet you for a while."

"Uh hi!" Ash said as he shook his hand. "Say, you look a little familiar."

"Aren't you Dr. Lawson's grandson who became pregnant?" Brock asked. "I recognize you from a picture he showed us."

"Correct." he said. "Like Ash, I was also a male who became pregnant."

"So that's where I remember you from. I have a lot of questions I needed to ask you."

"Don't worry. You'll get to ask all the questions you want. But first I want to give you a little examination."

"It won't involve needles will it?"

"Ha ha! No no no. I just want to see how you're going along is all."

Ash and the doctor walked into his room with his mom and Brock close behind. Ash was told to lie down on his bed and to lift his shirt up. Dr. Carter then proceeded to feel around Ash's stomach just to make sure everything was normal.

"So Ash, do you know how far along are you?"

"Well… I say about 3 and a half months or something like that."

"Yes… I'd say that's about accurate." he said as he wrote down some notes. "Tell me, what does your diet consists of?"

"Uh…. well…"

"Okay, can you at least tell me what you had for breakfast today?"

"A big piece of chocolate cake… It was really good…" he said with a slight smile.

"I'm sure it was. But that's not the exact definition of a healthy breakfast. I think I'm going to give you a diet plan that would be best for your health and your baby's."

"Oh great…" he said sarcastically under his breath.

"Now, have you been feeling alright lately? Anything feel out of the ordinary?"

"Well I think me being pregnant is out of the ordinary itself don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose that's true." he chuckled. "But is there anything that's been upsetting you lately."

"Well…. there is one thing. See I can't seem to find where the father of my baby is…"

"Oh… he didn't run away from you or anything like that?"

"No no. He doesn't even know that I'm pregnant. I haven't even seen him since the night that we… you know…" he said while blushing.

"Oh... I see. Well no doubt that must be hard for you."

"I guess so…"

After a few more minutes Dr. Carter stepped out of Ash's room and gave his mother a short review of how he's doing. Fortunately Ash was at a healthy weight and everything with the baby seemed normal. But still, he would like to give Ash an Ultra Sound examination sometime soon.

"So where will you be staying?" Delia asked Dr. Carter.

"Well my plans were to rent out an apartment in Viridian City for the time being."

"Oh I wouldn't want you to go to all the trouble to have to come all the way from Viridian to here. Why don't you stay here with us?"

"Oh it's quite all right. I usually do this when I give prenatal care to some one in a rural region such as this. Besides I have an automobile so it's only a 30 minute drive from here to Viridian. But thank you for the offer."

"Well alright then."

"Still we need an appropriate place for Ash to give birth."

"Hmm… I think I might know a place but I would need permission first."

"Oh that's good. But if it doesn't work out, no worries. I'm sure I'll figure out something."

"We'll thank you for all your help Dr. Carter. It's truly a blessing to have you."

"No trouble at all. Just make sure Ash sticks to the diet regimen I gave him. I'll be seeing you soon."

With that the doctor headed over to his car and drove away.

* * *

Later that night, Delia decided to pay a visit to Professor Oak. She had made some of here best pecan cookies that day we she wanted to give to him. She was also thinking that his laboratory would be an appropriate place for her grandchild to be born and wanted to ask him about the matter. When she knocked on the door, it was answered by his assistant, Tracey.

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum." he greeted.

"Hello Tracey. Is the professor around?"

"He sure is. Come with me."

The two walked down the hallway and into Professor Oak's living room were he was working on something on the PC. Tracey called out for his attention and he quickly turned around.

"Oh hello Delia. What brings you here?"

"Well I happened to bake my famous pecan cookies and I thought you and Tracey might like some." she said as she placed the basket on the coffee table.

"That'd be lovely. It was really nice of you."

The three sat on the sofa and sampled some of the cookies. Tracey's Marill also enjoyed the sweet taste of them.

"So how has Ash been lately?" asked the professor.

"Oh he's been okay. Physically anyway. But he's really upset that he can't find out where Richie is. It's been on his mind for the past few weeks."

"Well I'm sure Richie's fine." said Tracey. "He might be doing some intense training right now and hasn't been to any of the main pokemon centers."

"I hope that's the only reason. Another thing that happened today was that Dr. Lawson's grandson paid us a visit."

"Oh his grandson huh?" said Professor Oak. "I think I met him once before. Neil Carter right?"

"Yes. He said he was also pregnant nearly two years ago."

"Hmm… yes I do believe that Ash told me that some time ago."

"Unfortunately, his baby didn't survive. He died just hours after being born."

"That's terrible." said Tracey. "Does he know what happened?"

"He wasn't sure. But that's why he wants to keep an eye on Ash. To make sure that he'll get the best care possible that he really didn't have."

"Well if he needs a place to examine him, he's welcome to do it here." said the professor.

"Well actually, I wanted to ask you if it would be alright if Ash could have the baby here. Of course Dr. Carter would bring all of his own supplies and everything."

"I don't see anything wrong with that. Of course it would be alright. I think I actually have a room that would be perfect. When the time comes, Tracey and I will start preparing it for you."

"Oh thank you so much." she said wiping a tear from her eye. "This means so much to me and Ash." she said as she reached over and hugged the professor.

"It's no trouble. You and Ash are practically a part of my family. And a family helps each other out. Right?"

"Yes…" she said with a smile.

* * *

Back at the house, Ash was going through a phone book trying to look up some more numbers he could possibly call. Then he came across one number that was to the Battle Frontier registration offices. He picked up the phone and dialed the number. After a few minutes of being on hold, a female operator answered.

"Thank you for calling the Kanto Battle Frontier Registration. This is Sally speaking. How may I help you?"

"Uh yes um you wouldn't happen to have information about the people who registered do you?"

"Yes but all we can tell you is the status and the number of battle symbols a trainer has."

"Well that's okay. I just need to find out about one trainer is all."

"And what is the name of this trainer?"

"Um Richie…. Richie Belmont?"

"Hold on one second please…." she said as she began typing quickly. She was busy for about a minute and then she finally said something. "Well according to this he has one battle symbol but then decided to drop out of the competition."

"Drop out?" he asked. "Why would he do that?"

"There's no information about that. And even if there was its confidential information that I'm not aloud to disclose to anyone."

"Do you happen to have his home phone number?"

"Sorry that's confidential information I'm not allowed to give out."

"Look." he said sounding really serious. "It's really important that I talk to him. I've spent the last few weeks trying to find him and with no luck. So I'm begging ya here. Please give me that number."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble you had to go through. Really I am. But it's my job to keep this information between us and the trainer. There's nothing I can do."

"….. Alright…. Thanks anyway…." he said. He reluctantly put the phone back up on the hook and continued to stare at the desk that the phone was on. "For nothing!" he shouted as he pounded his fist on the desk. Pikachu happened to have walked by and saw his trainer in distress.

"Pika-pi…" said the concerned pokemon.

"Huh… oh Pikachu. Its you."

"Pikachu…" He started at his trainer with both a look of worry and concern.

"Don't worry about me Pikachu. I'm just really irritated right now." he said as he picked up his pokemon. "Richie dropped out of the frontier competition. I wonder what could have happened for him to quit. I'm also starting to wonder if I'll ever be able to find him." As he spoke, tears started to stream down his face. This upset Pikachu and he tried to comfort him once more.

"Pika-pi… Pikachu… Pika." he said while putting his paw on Ash's arm.

"Thanks buddy. I know you're trying to make me feel better but… I just don't know what to do anymore…" he said with a quivering voice.

"Pika…chu…" Feeling terrible that he couldn't cheer up Ash, Pikachu also started crying.

"Oh… sorry Pikachu! I didn't mean to make you cry too." he said as he held Pikachu closer to his body. "I gotta stop acting like this. I have to try and believe that every will turn out okay, right?"

"Pika…"

"All I need is you. You're my best friend. And as long as I have you than nothing can go wrong."

"Pikachu." he said seemingly more cheerful.

"Come on. Let's go get something to eat. I'm sure we have some leftovers from the dinner that Brock made."

"Pika!" he said as he followed.

* * *

About a week had passed since Dr. Carter last visited. Today he wanted to come over and give Ash his first ultra sound since the one he had with Nurse Joy. But this machine wasn't nearly as big as the one she had. It was just a simple laptop computer with a probe connected to it. He simply placed it on the book shelf near Ash's bed. Delia had already laid out a big towel over Ash's bed before the examination began.

Professor Oak came over as well wanting to meet up with the young doctor he hadn't seen in a while. The two greeted each other.

"I didn't know that you guys knew Professor Oak." said Dr. Carter.

"Oh yes." said Delia. "I've known him since I moved here to Pallet Town with my husband almost 15 years ago. I was still pregnant with Ash as a matter of fact."

"Yes." the professor added in. "It has been quite a long time that we've known each other, hasn't it Delia?"

"My grandfather talks about you a lot Professor. Especially about the times the two of you went to school together."

"Ah those were the good old days. I'll tell you, your grandfather was quite the charmer in his days. All of the girls wanted him."

Dr. Carter laughed at that statement. He was trying to imagine his grandfather with a bunch of girls at his beck and call. He would talk to Professor Oak a little while longer before he began the examination with Ash.

"Okay Ash. Just like before. Lie down on your bed and lift up your shirt for me please."

"Okay doctor." he agreed.

Brock, May, Max, Pikachu, and Mr. Mime were also in the room along with Professor Oak and Delia. All of them were very excited to get their first live look at the infant that was growing inside Ash. Ash of course was visibly nervous. Nervous that he was about to see his baby for the first time in a while and also nervous that everyone was standing around him like that.

"Alright, this is probably going to feel a little cold but try to bear with me." he said as he got out the strange jelly substance that Nurse Joy had put on him before. Of course this time he was fully awake so he could actually feel how cold it really was.

"Nnaah!" he shuttered as the doctor squeezed out a glop of it from the tube and on his belly. "That IS cold!"

Dr. Carter then got out what looked like a paint brush and began to spread out the strange substance. Then he got the probe and pressed it gently against Ash's stomach and began to move it around slowly while his eyes remained fixed on the computer screen. It was only about a minute of searching before the doctor had found what he was looking for.

"And there it is…" he said.

Everyone stood around in awe to what they were seeing. There, was the outline of a small baby.

"Where!" Ash asked. "I wanna see!" He couldn't really get good look at the screen because he was lying down.

The doctor moved down the screen of the laptop so that Ash was able to view it.

"Oh my god…" Ash whispered. "It looks much bigger now than it did when Nurse Joy gave me those pictures."

"Well that's to be expected Ash." said Dr. Carter. "Your baby grows a little bit every day. And each time we look at it, it'll probably look a little bit bigger than before."

"This truly is astonishing." the professor mentioned. "This is truly pushing past the normal boundaries of what the male body can do."

"I firmly believe that there was a time over many centuries ago where it was normal that a male would give birth." said Dr. Carter. "Back when the human being was still evolving.I guess later one that we adapted to only the female giving birth. But there still are times where a male now a days will have all the necessary means to bare a child."

Then a strange rapid thumping noise came from the speakers of the computer.

"Uh doctor, what is that?" Ash asked.

"That's just your baby's heart beat Ash."

"Wow it's so fast…"

"Yes well a baby's heart does beat faster than ours."

Ash stayed quiet for a moment as he continued to gaze at the screen. He was fascinated by the fact that there was a life forming inside him. In a way, this made his eyes tear up a little. He was both happy and sad. Happy that he would now have someone that would totally depend on him to live and sad because he would have to give up all of his dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master.

"Are you okay sweetie?" asked his mother.

"Yeah… I'm alright..." he said trying to choke back the tears.

"Pika…chu…?"

Ash got cleaned up after the examination and Dr. Carter began to pack up all of his equipment. But before he left, Delia wanted to ask him something.

"Excuse me Doctor. But I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well I just want to know if the birth is going to be hard for Ash."

"I'm not going to lie to you. Yes it will be hard. All births are. But being that male bodies are not used to the birthing process they're probably more painful than a female's."

"Oh my..."

"But if Ash feels he can't handle it, then I can give him a cesarean section."

"I don't think he'd like that option either."

"Well... we'll talk about it later. Right now let's just concentrate on making him as comfortable as possible during his pregnancy."

"Yes... alright then."

With that, Dr. Carter drove off once more into the sunset. Delia was still deeply worried about her son. But she would do anything to make him feel better.

* * *

Reviews please


	6. Forever Friends

**i DO NOT own pokemon. Cept for the ones on my game boy XD**

Well here's chapt 6. Events: May and Max go back to Petalburg O They got homesick. Also Team Rocket returns. Also there's a really cute seen with Ash at the end.

Read and Review please.

**

* * *

**

**Forever Friends**

Three weeks later...

Professor Oak had given Ash a few projects to work on at home so he wouldn't be bored from just staying there all the time. One was to work on a sort of book report about a pokemon's special ability. This of course to him was no way as exciting as a battle, but it was better than doing nothing. Brock tried to lend his hand in helping.

"I think I found a good article about Pikachu's special ability." he said.

"Pika...?" wondered his pikachu.

"Let's see... 'Static: When an opponent strikes a pokemon who has this ability...'" he read "...it will sometimes cause complete paralysis on the opponent. It has a varied chance of 55 - 65 of taking this effect.' Wow that's pretty cool. I knew about the ability but I didn't know Pikachu can do it."

"I guess it's a common ability among the electric types." Brock said. "I know that an Electrite has that ability as well."

"I wonder if I could do a report on more than just one pokemon."

Ash continued to browse through the internet for a few minutes. But then he stopped when he felt a strange movement in his abdomen.

"Uh!" he said in surprise.

"What's the matter?" asked Brock seemingly ready to jump up.

"I think my stomach's moving..."

"Ash... I think that must be the baby moving." he said as his eyes sort of widened.

"Really?"

"Pika?"

"It sure is moving a lot." Ash said with both hands on his stomach. "Heh! It kind of tickles in a way!"

"Must be an amazing feeling isn't it?"

"Hey Brock, do you want to feel the baby?"

"Uh sure! Why not?"

He moved over to Brock and took his hand. Then he placed it over where Ash had felt the baby move. And soon enough, Brock felt it too.

"Wow... It's such a gentle movement... It's almost soothing."

"Pikachu." said Ash. "Why don't you come and feel?"

"Pika-pika!" he said with delight. He walked up to his trainer and hopped up on his lap. Then he gently put his two paws against his trainer's belly. "Pika..."

"It's just too bad that my mom just left for the market. Otherwise I'd show her too."

* * *

Delia, May, and Max had gone of for the market ten minutes earlier. Delia needed to buy the ingredients for the meals that Dr. Carter had recommended for Ash. The diet consisted on a portion from each food group.

"Got the eggs right here." said Max.

"And I got the celery and carrots." said May.

"Thank you May and Max!" she said happily. "The two of you are a big help to me."

"It's no problem." May said. "We use to do this kind of stuff with our mother."

"Yeah... I really miss those days." said Max.

"Well she's really lucky to have you two as her children." she said as she was looking over the grocery list. "I can't wait to try out this new casserole recipe that Dr. Carter gave to us. I just hope Ash likes it as well."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Max said. "He seems to like anything that's edible."

The three finished gathering the groceries they needed and headed home. Little did they know they were being followed by the trouble making trio Team Rocket.

"Hurgh!" Jessie grunted. "I can't BELIEVE how long it took us to reach Pallet Town!"

"Yeah!" agreed Meowth. "That Thunder attack blasted us off all the way back to Hoenn!"

"Well let's just hope that never happens again!" said James. "Though I'm pretty sure it will."

Within a short walk, they were able to return home.

"We're back!" Delia announced.

"And we have lots of food!" shouted Max.

"Hey Mrs. Ketchum!" greeted Brock. "Need any help with those?"

"That would be very nice. Thank you Brock."

As Brock went to unpack the groceries on the kitchen counter, Ash came down from his room.

"Hi Mom!" he greeted to his mother.

"Pikachu!" greeted Pikachu.

"Oh hello honey!" she said to her son. "How's your report coming along?"

"Great in fact. I'm almost done with it."

"Wonderful. Maybe I could give it to Professor Oak by tomorrow then."

"Guess what happened while you were gone."

"Umm... I don't know. What happened?"

"The baby moved for the first time. It was incredible!"

"It did? Oh and I missed it..."

"Don't worry; I'm sure it'll move again."

"I remember when you moved inside me for the first time. It brought an immediate smile to my face... Did Brock see too?"

"Yeah! But he sure had a strange look on his face when he did." he said as he placed his hands on his back and tried to stretch a little. "Man... my back is killing me..."

"Just another thing that comes with pregnancy."

"First the throwing up, then the weird mood changes, and now this. How much more do I need."

"Probably a lot more.

* * *

Delia, with the help of Brock and Mr. Mime began preparing dinner and managed to finish with in an hour. After the table was set, everyone began to chow down.

"Wow this casserole is really good Mom!"

"Why thank you sweetie. This was a meal that the doctor thought I should make for you. Be sure to tell him too."

"Pika!"

"Hey May. Do you think we should tell Ash now?" whispered Max.

"I guess this might be a good time." said his sister.

"Good time for what?" Ash asked.

"Well Ash, Max and I were getting a little home sick and we were thinking about paying a little visit for a while."

"We've really been missing our parents and would really like to see them again."

"So you guys wanna leave?"

"Well just for a little while." said May. "But we promise to come back before you have your baby. We wanna be there for you when that happens."

"Hey don't worry about it. I don't mind. If you miss your parents then you should go and see them. I completely understand."

"That's good..." said Max. "We thought you were gonna be mad at us."

"Look, I know I've been kind of a jerk lately but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want you to go home if you really wanted to."

"Thanks for understanding Ash. And were sorry that things have been hard for you lately and we really hope they get better."

"No. Thank you for being such great friends. You two were there to help me even though I've been a pain in the butt. Sorry for giving you guys a hard time."

"Aw it's okay!" said Max. "We still love ya!" he said as he placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Thanks guys..."

"That's so touching..." said Brock who started to cry a little causing the others to laugh a little.

As they were all enjoying the delicious dinner there was a knock at the door.

"Oh... I wonder who that could be." Delia wondered.

When she went to the door she saw a man and a woman of whom she never saw before. They both wore professional suits and sun glasses.

"Um... May I help you?" asked Delia.

"Hello ma'am!" said the woman. "Did you know that the price of real-estate for houses in Pallet Town have gone way up? You could sure benefit a lot from selling your home."

"Oh no thank you. I'm not interested in selling."

"Are you sure?" asked the man. "It could be possible that you can get a really nice estate on Valencia Island from what this house sells for."

"That's okay. I'm quite happy living here."

"Well at least let us have a look around!" said the woman as she pushed past Delia. The man did the same.

"Hey wait a minute!"

The two stopped in the living room and took a look around. Almost as if they were looking for something specific.

"What a lovely little home you have here!" the woman commented.

"And in nice shape too." said the man. "No damage here. This can be worth quite a lot."

"I told you I'm not interested in selling!" Delia said sounding angry now. "Now please leave!"

"Oh is that the kitchen!" the woman asked completely ignoring Delia's request. She headed over to it accompanied by the man.

"No! Don't go in there!"

Ash and the others were enjoying their dinner until these two strange characters entered.

"And the kitchen is lovely too!" the strange woman said.

"Uh... just who are you people?" May asked.

"Well looks like everyone's enjoying dinner right now!" said the man.

"It smells absolutely exquisite!" the woman said as she began to help herself to it. The man soon joined in.

"Hey, you can't just come in here and start eating our dinner uninvited!" Brock shouted.

The two completely ignored Brock as the turned there attention to Ash and Pikachu. Ash immediately sunk in his chair not wanting the two strangers to see his slightly larger stomach.

"Pika...?" the pokemon wondered as the two strangers were staring at him.

"For the last time I'm not selling this house!" Delia said as she angrily entered the kitchen.

"Oh my, what a lovely pokemon you have there!" commented the strange woman.

"Uh thanks..." Ash said sounding very uncomfortable.

"Pi...?"

"Judging by the way it looks it must be very strong." said the man as he but his giant briefcase on the table.

"Strong enough to be worth stealing." said the woman.

"Huh...?" Ash mumbled out.

Before anyone could say anything else the man pushed a button on his brief case which caused it to open. Then a giant robot hand came out of it and grabbed a hold of Pikachu.

"Pika!" shouted the yellow pokemon as the briefcase shut on his cries.

"PIKACHU!" shouted Ash.

"You guys are no real-estate agents!" yelled his mother.

_"Prepare for trouble. Things are not as they seem..." _said the woman.

_"And make it double. You know what we mean..."_ said the man.

"Oh-no... don't tell me..." said Max.

The to mysterious strangers tore off there professional business suits and revealed their Team Rocket uniforms. It was none other then Jessie and James here to make another attempt to steal Pikachu. They began to recite the rest of their motto.

_"An evil as old as the gal..."_ Jessie began.

"Oh will you shut up!" interrupted Brock. "We only heard it 1000 times!"

"Uh why you... HOW RUDE!"

"Forget it! Let's just split!" yelled James.

"Right!"

The two then jumped and broke through the window in the kitchen and took off towards the sunset.

"Uh! Pikachu!" Ash screamed. Even though he shouldn't of, he took off after them.

"Ash no!" yelled both Delia and Brock. The two were about to run after Ash until May spoke up.

"Wait!" she said.

"Huh...?" Delia and Brock said at the same time seemingly puzzled.

"Let me go and help Ash this time. I'll bring him back safely. I promise."

"...Alright then." said Delia. "Please hurry though."

Back outside, Jessie and James head already met up with Meowth and there balloon and were getting ready to take off.

"This is probably the fastest we've eva got away wit tis!" said a confident Meowth.

"Don't jinx it Meowth." said Jessie. "Let's just get out of here."

"Hold it!" shouted a voice they know all to well.

"Huh...?" When they all looked up they saw Ash who was standing partially behind a tree. Only his top half was visible.

"You're not taking Pikachu away!"

"Look what you did Meowth!" yelled James. "You did jinx it!"

Jessie found Ash's behavior some what peculiar. She wondered why he was standing behind the tree like that.

"What are you doing twerp?" she asked. "Why are you standing like that?"

"Uhh... it's just... I don't feel well! But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get away! Go Corphish!" he said as he threw out a pokeball. And out came his red lobster like pokemon known as Corphish.

"Corphish!" he shouted.

"Oh... I'm shaking..." Jessie said sarcastically. "Go Seviper!"

"Sevvviperrrr!" it said as it came out of its pokeball.

"Corphish! Use Crab Hammer!" Ash commanded.

"Cor... PHISH!" he said as he attempted to strike Seviper.

"Dodge it Seviper!" Jessie commanded. The large snake pokemon responded diligently and moved out of the way in time. "Good. Now Seviper, use your Poison Tail!"

"Ssssevvviperrr!" it said as it slashed its dagger like tail and hit Corphish dead center.

"CORR!" he screamed as he went crashing to the ground.

"Uh! Corphish!" Ash yelled in concern while still trying to conceal himself behind the tree.

"Ah ha ha ha haha!" cackled Jessie. "It's over twerp!"

Ash had a look of great distress on his face. He didn't know what to do. Either he could stay put or try to help Corphish. Though if he did he would expose his secret and also put his baby in danger. And he promised himself he wouldn't do that again. Just then he heard someone come from behind.

"Combusken! Use Sky Uppercut!" said a voice.

Then from out of the hedges came the fighting chicken-like pokemon, Combusken.

"COM...BUSKEN!" he yelled as he used a high kick on Seviper.

"Ahh!" said all the members of Team Rocket.

Ash turned around to see who his savior was and saw May approaching.

"May? Oh man thanks a lot! I was in real trouble back there."

"No problem. But can you please try not to run off like this anymore. You freaked out your mom back there."

"Oops... Okay. I won't do it again."

"Now I'm going to go take care of Team Rocket. You stay put alright?"

"Sure."

"Okay! Let's go Combusken!"

"Combusken!" replied the pumped up pokemon.

"So you want to play dirty huh?" Jessie angrily asked May. "Fine! Seviper! Use Wrap attack!"

"Sevvviiperrr!" it said as it made an attempt to coil itself around Combusken.

"Jump Combusken!" she said and Combusken quickly responded. Now that Combusken was airborne May called out the next attack. "Great! Now use Flame Thrower!"

"Com...BUSKEN!" he screamed as a large stream a fire came streaming from his beak burning Seviper.

"PRRRRR!" Seviper yelled out in pain from the burns as it crashed into Jessie also burning her.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"Now Combusken! Get that case from James!"

Combusken leaped in front of James. Then he got a very nervous look on his face.

"James! Don't you dare let that twerp have Pikachu!" yelled Jessie.

"Uh... I... You stay away from me!" James yelled to Combusken while holding the case above his head.

"Use Peck!" May yelled. Combusken then started to peck at James' forehead profusely.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" he said as he threw the case in the air.

"I'll get it!" Meowth yelled as he dove for the case. But then something jumped on top of him and caught the case. It was none other than Corphish who returned to consciousness.

"Corphish!" he said in victory as he ran while holding Pikachu's case with his claws and scuttled over to Ash.

"Oh no!" said Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"Great job Corphish!" Ash implied.

"Quick! Let's just get outta here!" shouted Meowth. The others agreed and all ran towards the balloon.

"Now that Pikachu is safe..." May said. "...use Fire Spin Combusken!"

"COM-BUSKEN!" the fire pokemon said as it whirled up a spiral of fire and threw it towards Team Rocket's balloon causing it to explode. Team Rocket were then sent flying into the air

"Well how did that happen?" yelled Jessie.

"My head hurts..." James said while rubbing his head from the Peck attack.

"Well I guess that we're..." Meowth began to say.

"...BLASTING OF AGAIN!" they all said.

"Bye! Hope to NOT see you soon!" May happily said to Team Rocket while waving. Meanwhile Ash was opening up the case that Pikachu was trapped in. When he lifted up the lid, Pikachu popped out.

"Pika-pi!" the Pikachu said happily.

"Pikachu!" Ash smiled as he hugged his pokemon.

"Looks like everything worked out great."

"Hey guys!" said a voice from afar.

When the two looked up they saw Max heading towards them with Brock and Delia close behind.

"Max...?" said May

"Mom and Brock too?" said Ash

"Pika-pika?" said Pikachu.

"Ash... please don't ever run off like that again." his mother said. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry Mom. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant when Pikachu's in danger and I have a basic instinct to run and help him."

"Well the important thing is that you and Pikachu are okay." mentioned Brock.

"And we wouldn't be if it wasn't for May." Ash said as he turned to May. "Thank you so much. If it wasn't for you I don't know what would have happened."

"Don't thank me Ash, thank Combusken. He did all the fighting."

"Combusk!"

"Thanks a lot Combusken!"

"Wow so May was the one who stopped them?" Max asked. "I never thought she had it in her."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Corphish-Cor!" Corphish said while tugging on Ash's pants for attention.

"And you too Corphish!" he said as he knelt down and patted Corphish on the head. "You did great."

"Now why don't we go back home and finish the rest of our dinner?" Delia suggested. "I think May and Max deserve one last meal before they go home tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh that's right..." Ash realized.

"Good cause I'm still hungry!" Max said.

As they were walking back to the house, Ash had a thought in his head. This would be the last night that he would get to spend with May and Max. They would be leaving soon. The two have them had been traveling with him for over a year now. He began to remember the first time he met May. She didn't have a clue about how to train with Pokemon. She didn't even like them at first. But know she was a strong trainer and can fend for herself now. And Max was so little when Ash met him. Now he would be turning 10 real soon and will start his own Pokemon journey. They've all been through so much, and now he'd have to say good bye to them. Even if they were only going to be gone for a few months, Ash can't help but miss them already. May took notice to Ash's silence and looked at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Huh... Oh yeah I'm fine!" he said. "I just kinda spaced out there."

* * *

The next morning came and May and Max had there stuff ready to go. They were actually going to take the ferry that Ash took when he began his adventure in the Hoenn League in order to reach Little Root Town. Then Norman, their father, would meet up with them there and they would head back to Petalburg City. Professor Oak wanted to help out so he asked Tracey to take the service van to drive them down to where the ferry was docked so that they would make it on time. After May and Max put their things in the van, it was time for them to say their goodbyes.

"You be sure to give are regards to your parents, alright?" said Professor Oak.

"Don't worry, we will." said Max.

"Here, I made these for you guys." Brock said as he got out two boxes that were wrapped in napkins. "Just a small lunch in case you guys get hungry on the way."

"Wow thank you Brock." May said happily.

"Don't forget to keep in touch with us." said Delia. "Just so we know how you doing."

"We will. And thank you for everything Mrs. Ketchum." May thanked. "You know, for letting us stay with you and making us dinner."

"It's no trouble at all." she smiled.

May and Max noticed that Ash wasn't speaking. When they looked it him his eyes were fixed to the ground.

"Ash?" asked his mother. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

Ash didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at the ground. May and Max were a little concerned so they moved closer to him.

"Hey Ash?" Max asked. "Are you alright?"

Ash finally jerked up his head revealing that he had been crying this whole time.

"Uhh... Ash?" they both said nervously.

Without any warning, Ash reached out for the two of them and had them in a strong Ursaring hug.

"I'm gonna miss you guys!" he wailed with tears shooting from his eyes.

"Eh... We'll miss you too Ash." May said. "But loosen your grip a little. We can't breathe."

"Yeah Ash!" Max said while struggling for air. "You're acting like Torkoal!"

"Must be the hormones." May mentioned.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu said giggling a little.

The others couldn't help but laugh at Ash's behavior. None of them really ever saw this affectionate before. Just then, Tracey emerged from the van.

"Okay guys." he said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, as soon as Ash lets go of us!" Max said.

"Good bye you guys..." Ash said as he let them go. "And thank you for being such awesome friends."

"Don't worry about it Ash..." May said. "Will be back in a couple of months." she said as she put her hands on his shoulders. "Until then, we'll phone you everyday. Alright?"

"Yes... Thank you..."

Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Delia, and Professor Oak watched as Tracey drove May and Max down to the ferry. They all waved good bye and saw May and Max waving back through the windows. Ash then wiped the tears from his face knowing that May and Max would be back soon.

* * *

Awwwlovey Ash! huggles


	7. The Heartbreak

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and all that jazz.**

Anyway here's chapter 7

**WARNING: **This chapter might make you hate Richie. Thus is why it has this title. Read to find out why. And there's also an itty bitty sliver of Bouldershipping. But nothing serious, relax folks

Oh and if you noticed from chapter 5, I made up a last name for Richie. **Belmont.** I forgot to say that last time ;

* * *

**The Heartbreak**

1 month later...

Ash was now in his fifth month and now was fully visibly pregnant. He began to wear larger clothing because he could no longer fit into his old clothing. Also a lot of his body parts began to ache causing him to be a little cranky. Despite being home for practically three months, Ash still was unable to locate Richie, the father of his baby. But today he might find out something that is very important to the matter.

It was 11:00 in the morning and Ash had just woken up. He had been sleeping later than usual because he usually had a hard time falling asleep. And he also seems to have a hard time getting out of bed.

"Ow! My knees..." he moaned as he stood up from his bed. "My back hurts too..."

Usually the only reason that Ash woke up in the morning is because he had an incredible urge to use the restroom. Today was no exception. As soon as he got up, he made his way towards the bathroom.

"Gotta go, gotta go, gotta GO!" he repeated to himself.

Downstairs Brock started to cook Ash's breakfast knowing that this was the time that he usually woke up. If he wasn't awake then the smell of his cooking would do the trick. Ash slowly made his way down the stairs due to the aches and took his seat at the table where he was greeted by Pikachu.

"Pika-pi!" greeted his pokemon.

"Uh... hey buddy." he sighed because of the aches he had. Then he patted Pikachu on the head.

"Good morning Ash." said Brock. "Feeling any better?"

"Not really... Now my knees hurt. It was really hard getting down those stairs."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If they hurt that much I would have just brought your breakfast up to you."

"It's okay. It smelled so good that I thought it was worth it to come down here."

"Pika!" giggled Pikachu.

"Well you're gonna like what I have for you today. Pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs!"

"Really?" he said as his eyes lit up.

"Your mom and I had a talk with Dr. Carter. Since you are doing a great job sticking to your diet, you get a little break."

"That's great! Thanks Brock! These are my favorites!"

As soon as Brock put the plate on the table Ash immediately dug into it.

"Try not to eat it so fast. You'll give yourself a stomach ache."

"Yeah but its soooo good!"

Ash managed to polish the plate with in ten minutes. He wanted to have seconds but thought it would be best not to. After that, he and Brock talked for a while.

"So you still haven't found anything about Richie?" asked Brock.

"No... Now I'm really worried. They said that he dropped out of the Battle Frontier a while ago."

"I wonder why he'd do that. Maybe a family emergency."

"What if he's pregnant too? I mean that's why I dropped out."

"I highly doubt that. If he was you'd think that he'd be trying to contact you like you're trying to contact him."

"Maybe he's scared..."

"The thought of the two of you getting each other pregnant after just one night of intercourse seems really unbelievable."

"Yeah you're right... That does seem too coincidental. I guess I'll just believe anything now."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find out where he is."

"I just hope I find him before our baby is born." he said while holding on to his stomach.

"Pika-pi..." said a sad Pikachu.

"Well... I better get started on those chores before your mom gets home. I promised her they'd be done."

"Can I help?"

"Well are you sure that you're up to it? I mean with your aching knees and all. I don't want you to over exert yourself."

"I could probably do the dishes for you. Come on Brock."

"Okay, okay. You could clean off the table and do the dishes if you'd like. But make sure you call me if you're having any trouble."

"Don't worry I will. Let's go Pikachu."

"Pika pika!"

Ash and Pikachu began to clean off the table as Brock went to the living room to vacuum it. After they placed all the dishes in the sink, Ash started to wash them and Pikachu would dry them. After they finished, Brock also finished with the vacuuming and started dusting. Ash noticed that the counter and the table in the kitchen seemed a little dirty. So he decided to clean them off too. By the time he and Pikachu finished an hour had passed and the work really took a toll on Ash's knees and back. He decided to sit down for a moment.

"Oh man... maybe that wasn't such a good idea..." he said weakly from the aches.

"Pika-pi..."

"But at least everything is nice and shiny. Now Brock won't have to worry about it."

"Pikachu."

A few minutes later Brock finished up the rest of his chores and entered the kitchen.

"WOW!" Brock said in amazement. "Did you do all this Ash?"

"Heh... yeah..." he said with a shy smile. "Kinda got caught up in the moment."

"Every thing looks really great. You and Pikachu did an awesome job."

"Thanks!"

"Pika!"

Ash tried to stand up from the chair but was immediately struck with pain in his back.

"Ouch!"

"Ash!" Brock yelled in concern.

"Don't worry, don't worry... I'm okay..." he said as he was on the floor. Brock crouched down and tried to help him up."

"I knew this wasn't a good idea. I shouldn't have let you do this."

"It's okay Brock, I'll be fine. Just... can you get me over to the couch please...?"

With Ash's arm over his neck and shoulder, Brock walked him over in to the living room and on to the couch.

"Let me get you an ice pack for your back." Brock said as he dashed over to the kitchen. Pikachu hopped up on the couch along side his trainer.

"Oh Brock..." Ash thought. "You can be a little neurotic at times... but you're still a great friend."

Brock returned with the ice pack from the freezer. He pulled Ash up a bit so he could put it on his back. Then Ash lied back again.

"Now is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? I'll do what ever you want. Just say the word and I'll..."

"Brock calm down!" Ash interrupted. "You don't have to do anything. Just try to relax."

"Uh... sorry. I'm being a little crazy again aren't I?"

"I know you're only worried. But you gotta try not to blame yourself so much. I'm more responsible for myself than you are."

"You're right. And I apologize. But isn't there something I could do for you."

"Well... how 'bout we rent a movie from the video store?"

"A movie? Sure. What would you like to see?"

"Well I heard that Pixar movie 'Finding Nemo' was really good. Maybe we could watch it together."

"That sounds good. Alright. You just rest there while I go to video store. I'll be back in a short while."

"Okay..."

"Pika..."

* * *

A half an hour went by after Brock took off to the video store. Fortunately they had the movie that Ash wanted to see. He paid to have a two day rental of the DVD and left the store. Brock also decided to pick up some medicine that could possibly help Ash's back at the local pharmacy. He needed a medication that would be safe for the baby as well so he decided to just go with the kind of medicine that a pregnant woman would normally take. He took them up to the front in order to buy them.

"So you have a woman who's expecting in your life?" asked the cashier/pharmacist.

"Huh?" he said sounding a little confused. Then he realized that the pharmacist thought that he was buying the pills for a woman instead of a young man. He quickly tried to make up a story. "Oh uh yeah! It's for my sister."

"Congratulations! So are you excited about being an uncle soon?"

"Yeah... A little nervous as well."

"How far along is she?"

"Well h-she is about 5 months now."

"Well you let her know I wish her and the baby well. And you try to relax a little as well." he said as he handed the bag over to Brock.

"Okay I will. Thanks."

Within fifteen minutes Brock returned to the house. Ash was still on the couch watching some TV with Pikachu.

"Hey Brock!" greeted Ash.

"Pika-chu!" said Pikachu.

"Feeling any better?" Brock asked

"Yeah actually. Still a little sore but much better."

"While I was out I also got you some medicine for your back." he said as he pulled out a bottle from the brown bag.

"This is for... pregnant women." said Ash as he examined the bottle.

"Well you are pregnant. I just got it because I thought it would be safe for your baby."

"That's true."

Brock went into the kitchen and got a glass of water for Ash. When he got back Ash took one pill and used the water to wash it down. As he was doing that, Brock started the movie. Brock then took his seat next to Ash and Pikachu.

The movie they were watching "Finding Nemo" was about a young clownfish named Nemo who gets kidnapped by humans. Now his father had to search the ocean in order to find him.

At the beginning of the movie, Ash couldn't help but giggle a little. It was because of the behavior of Nemo's father Marlin. He had a very neurotic behavior about protecting his son from every little thing. His behavior seemed very similar to the way Brock had been acting earlier.

As the movie went on there was one scene where Nemo had to stick a rock in the filter of the fish tank he was being kept in to escape. He thought he was able to jam it and began to swim out the tube. But the rock got loose and the fan started up again and began to suck Nemo back up the tube and straight towards the blades of the fan. The some what chilling scene frightened Ash a little bit causing him to grab on to Brock's arm and lay his head on his shoulder. Though a bit surprised, Brock didn't mind it. Though, this was quite affectionate behavior coming from Ash. After the scene was over Nemo turned out okay but Ash still clung on to Brock's arm.

All and all the two boys and Pikachu really seemed to enjoy the movie. It was a wonderful combination of action, comedy, and drama. But towards the end of the movie, Ash started to dose off. Brock didn't really notice until the movie was over when he looked at Ash, who was still hooked on his arm, sound asleep. Brock turned off the television and gently pried himself from Ash's grip. He grabbed a pillow that was nearby and placed it under Ash's head. Then he took a blanket and threw it over his sleeping friend. Pikachu then curled up next to Ash and fell asleep as well. Then Brock quietly stepped out of the living room.

* * *

A few hours later, Delia and Mr. Mime returned home after a day of browsing for baby furniture. Delia would have used Ash's but she donated it to a charity quite a while ago. She thought she found a place she liked but would return later once she found out what the gender of the baby was.

When they returned the living room was dark. Delia walked around the couch and saw Pikachu and her son fast asleep. But she and Mr. Mime noticed that the light in the kitchen was on. The two walked over quietly and found Brock sitting at the table reading a news paper. He had noticed Delia and Mr. Mime step in and greeted them.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Ketchum." Brock said quietly not wanting to wake Ash up.

"My... The kitchen looks so beautiful." she said in a soft tone.

"Mime mime." agreed Mr. Mime.

"Well I wish I could take credit but Ash and Pikachu did this."

"They did?"

"Yeah, Ash insisted on it."

"Hm that's my boy." she said with a smile.

"Though I think the work tired him out a bit. He fell asleep while we were watching a movie. So I left him to rest and came in here."

"Brock I'd really like to thank you. You've been so kind to Ash lately and have been doing a wonderful job taking care of him. It's truly a blessing to have you here."

"Aw... it's nothing."

A little while later Delia went back into the living room. Then she went over to where Ash was sleeping and gently started to stroke his forehead. Ash then began to slowly wake up.

"Mmmm... Mom...?" he mumbled out still a bit drowsy.

"Hello my angel. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Nap...? Uh! Did I fall asleep?" he said as he perked up his head. "Man... what time is it?"

"It's almost 6:30."

"Last thing I remember... it was around 3:30..." he said as he yawned.

"Then you were asleep for quite a while weren't you?"

"I better start waking up now."

Ash's movements also caused Pikachu to wake up. The yellow pokemon snapped out of his sleep and stood on all fours and stretched while yawning.

"I see you were tired too huh Pikachu?" asked Ash.

"Pika...pika..." said Pikachu.

Brock decided it was a good time to start making dinner for everyone now that Ash was awake. It didn't take him that long to make it and everyone was eating with in a half an hour.

"Ash I saw this adorable baby furniture set at one store." said his mother. "Though, I need to know if you're having a boy or girl before I could pick out the color."

"Dr. Carter said he'd be able to tell me what the baby is in my 6th month." said Ash.

"Are you hoping for anything in particular?" asked Brock.

"I guess either of them would be fine with me. Though... I'm kinda hoping it'll be a boy."

During the middle of their conversation, there was a knock at the door.

"Oh, I'll get that." Brock said.

"Just don't let any real-estate agents in." said Delia

As Brock approached the door, he saw Misty and Tracey on the other side. He felt it safe enough to let them in.

"Hey Tracey." he said. "And Misty, we haven't seen you around in a while."

"Yeah well it's my sisters' again." she said. "They needed my help at the gym again so I needed to go home."

"So what brings you two here?"

"Well I just needed to give Ash something from the professor." said Tracey.

"How is Ash doing anyway?" asked Misty. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh he's doing pretty well. A little achy though but otherwise he's fine."

"Well I think he's going to feel even better when he sees what I have for him." Tracey said

"Alright then, come on in."

He brought the two into the kitchen where Ash was just finishing up his dinner. Ash was a bit surprised to see Misty. He hadn't seen her since the night he announced he was pregnant.

"Misty?" he asked.

"Hi Ash." she said. "Sorry for not being around. But I had work at home to do."

"That's okay." he said as he stood up from his chair. "Though, I must say it's really nice seeing you again."

"Likewise." she said with a friendly smile. When she got a good look at Ash, she couldn't believe how big he'd gotten while she was away. "My... your baby's grown a lot hasn't it?"

"Hm? Oh yeah! And it's not done yet. I'll probably get even bigger than this."

"Hey Ash, I have something here that you've been wanting for a while." said Tracey.

"Really? What is it?"

"Well Professor Oak was able to pull some strings with the people who ran the Kanto League Competition and was able to get Richie's phone number for you." he said as he handed Ash a slip of paper.

"R...R...Richie...?" he said very nervously.

"Oh Ash, this is the moment that you've been waiting for." said his mother.

This had indeed what Ash was waiting for. But now that it was here he didn't know what to do. There was still a huge part of him that was scared to call Richie for fear of rejection. But still, he had a right to know that he has a child on its way.

"You're right mom. This is what I've been waiting for. Tracey, tell the professor I said thank you when you get back. Okay?"

"Sure thing."

"I need to call him right away."

Ash decided to go inside his father's study so he could have a private conversation with Richie. His mother and his friends were waiting outside in the living room wanting to know what Richie was going to say. As Ash slowly started to dial the numbers he took in a big gulp. His heart was racing at this point. He then took a deep breath as he punched in the last number.

"Okay... here we go." he said quietly to himself.

As the phone starting ringing, Ash's heart seemed to beat even faster. It rung about four times before someone picked up.

"Hello, Belmont residence." said a girl on the other side.

Ash was a little surprised to see a girl there. Richie never mentioned he had a sister. She was a fairly pretty girl though. She had shiny violet hair with dark blue eyes. And she was wearing a school uniform of some kind. By the looks of it, a very rich school. Ash took a second to respond.

"Uhh... yes! Uh... is Richie there?" he asked.

"He's out for the moment. May I ask whose calling?"

"Oh um this is Ash Ketchum. I'm one of his friends."

"Oh really... I've never heard of you." Ash kind of frowned at that remark. Richie never talked about him? "Well what ever you need to tell him you can tell me."

"And why is that?"

"I'm his girlfriend."

At that moment Ash had a sickly expression on his face. He felt shocked, angry, hurt, and betrayed all at once. Richie has a girlfriend? How could this be? Ash's whole world came crashing down around him as the only person he'd ever loved slipped away. His heart broke into thousands of pieces. He stood quiet on the phone for a few more seconds.

"Hello...?" the girl said impatiently waiting for a response from Ash. He truly wanted to cuss her out but instead came up with another answer.

"Ha ha ha! I just realized! I have the WRONG number! Isn't that FUNNY? So sorry for bothering you!" he said fictitiously as he hung up the phone. As soon as he but the phone back the tears came pouring from his eyes. He was too embarrassed to walk out of the study. So he sat there for about ten minutes crying his eyes out before he emerged.

Everyone outside assumed the reason he was taking a while was because he was talking the matter over with Richie. None of them knew what really happened. When Ash shut the door behind him he had his eyes fixed on the floor hoping that he would disappear off the planet right about now.

"So what did he say...?" asked Misty. Ash didn't respond. He continued to stare at the floor.

"Ash...?" asked his mother who now seemed worried.

"Did you get to talk to him?" Brock asked.

Ash still stared at the floor as he answered Brock's question.

"Nope... I didn't get to talk to him." he said trying to choke back the tears. "He wasn't there at the moment."

"Oh well don't be upset Ash. I'm sure he'll come back in a short while." his mother said.

"Yeah well when he does I'm sure he'll wanna make out with his girlfriend first." he said while sarcastically smiling at all of them.

"Girlfriend...?" Tracey asked.

"Oh you didn't know? Yeah turns out he has a girlfriend. I just talked to her on the phone."

"Oh my god..." Brock said as he now realized what happened. "Ash I..."

"NO! Don't say anything! I don't wanna hear how sorry you are for me!" he said as he went into a rage. "That god damn bastard!" he screamed as he charged his knuckles into the wall causing them to bleed. He had so much anger that he didn't even feel the pain. His behavior started to scare Pikachu.

"Pika...pi...?" he said with fright.

"How could he have a girlfriend anyway? He told me he was... he was..." As he spoke he started to sink down to his knees and was crying uncontrollably.

"Oh Ash..." his mother said as she started to cry as well. She hated to see her son in so much pain. She tried to approach him in an attempt to comfort him. But as soon as she got close he pushed her away.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed as he darted up the stairs.

"Ash wait!" screamed Brock. But he was just answered with the sound of Ash's bedroom door slamming shut.

In his room Ash just sat against the door hoping it would prevent anyone from entering. The distraught teenager then looked at his hand and saw blood dripping down it. But he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him anymore. He just sat there and cried. He was so upset that he started to pull some of his hair out. Downstairs his mother and friends were discussing what they should do.

"We have to go up there and try to talk to him!" Misty said.

"I don't think he's in such a reasonable state right now." said Brock. "Maybe we should leave him alone."

"But you saw what happened to his hand. We can't just leave him like that."

"I thought when we came here we would make him feel better but now he feels worse than ever." said Tracey. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened.

"This isn't your fault Tracey." said Delia. "You didn't know this would happen. None of us did."

"I don't know about you guys but I'd really like to strangle Richie right about now." Brock said with an angry look.

"Violence isn't going to solve anything." Delia said. "Right now we need to focus on Ash."

His friends also agreed and the 4 of them along with Pikachu went to Ash's bedroom door.

"Ash...? Sweetie...?" called his mother.

"Go away..." came a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"We just want to talk to you." Misty said.

"Pika pika!" agreed his pikachu.

"Well I don't!"

"We know that you're really upset right now and we don't blame you." said Brock. "It was a really rotten thing that Richie did to you. But you can't just close down the whole world around you."

"Why not! It's not like anything matters anymore!"

"I know you don't mean that! There are a lot of things that still matter to you! The most important being your baby. You need to be there for it."

"But I'll have to raise it... alone... That was my worst fear..." he said as he choked up again.

"But you're not going to be alone. You have a lot of people on the other side of this door who really love you and would do anything to help you out."

Brock's words were met with a long silence. Then the door to Ash's room slowly began to open. After Ash was fully visible, he collapsed into Brock's arms.

"I'm sorry..." he sobbed. Brock tried to comfort him by rubbing his back.

"Everything will be alright... I promise you that..." he said softly.

"Pika...chu..."

Brock then turned his attention to Ash's injured hand.

"Come on. Let me bandage this up for you."

"Alright..." he said trying to sniff up the tears.

The two walked up to the bathroom where Brock would mend Ash's wounds. But would he be able to mend the wounds that weren't physical?

* * *

WOAH! WHO WAS THAT HO! You'll find out soon...

R&R


	8. After the Storm

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I actually wrote this chapter a while ago but I got grounded from using my computer.

Anyway enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**After the Storm**

The next morning Brock and Delia were in the kitchen having some tea to calm their nerves after what happened last night. Brock was just happy that Ash finally got some sleep being that he spent the whole night crying. He fell asleep around 5 am after a million tears fell from his eyes. Just when the two thought they could have a moment of calm, Pikachu came running down the stairs from his trainer's room and into the kitchen. He seemed really upset by something.

"Pika pi! Pika-pikachu! Chu! Pika!" yelled the frantic pokemon.

"Pikachu...?" Delia asked.

Pikachu continued frantically talking to them and made motions with his body and kept pointing to Ash's room. It didn't take long for Brock to figure out that something was wrong.

"Is something wrong with Ash?" asked Brock.

"Pika pi!" he said as he nodded.

"Oh no!" said Delia.

Pikachu ran up the stairs followed by the two humans. Brock and Delia saw Pikachu go inside Ash's room and then they followed, afraid of what they might find.

"Ash?" Brock said as he entered the room.

They both saw Ash in bed wrapped up to his shoulders in this blanket. He was shivering from head to toe. When Brock got closer he noticed Ash's face seemed really pale. He put his hand on Ash's forehead and immediately found the problem.

"He's burning up..." said Brock to Delia.

"Oh Ash..." Delia said as she put her hand gently on Ash's cheek. "I think we should get Dr. Carter over here right away."

"Good idea."

Dr. Carter was surprised to get a call from them. He paid a visit to them only a few days ago. But when they told him Ash was sick, he thought it best to check it out. He arrived within a half an hour from the phone call.

"I got here as fast as I could." he said as he entered through the door.

"Thank you so much for coming." Delia thanked him. "Ash is up in his room. I'll take you to him."

Upstairs, Pikachu wouldn't leave Ash's bedside. When he pressed his cheek against Ash's, he knew that he was really sick. His skin temperature seemed really hot compared to Pikachu's.

"Pika...pi..." he said as he nuzzled Ash's ear which caused him to wake up. His eyes were still red from all the crying he did.

"Pika...chu...?" Ash said weakly. Just then Dr. Carter entered the room with his mother and Brock close behind.

"Hello Ash." the doctor said. "I hear you're not feeling to well today."

"Doctor...? What are you doing here...?"

"Your mother gave me call this morning." he said as he put the back side of his hand on Ash's face. "Well it's obvious that you have a fever. But what exactly happened here? You were fine the other day."

"I think he got it because of something that happened yesterday." mentioned Brock.

"Really? What happened?"

"You see... we found the phone number of the baby's father but when Ash called him he found out that he had a girlfriend. Ash didn't even get to speak to him. He was so upset he spent the whole night crying." explained his mother.

"Oh my goodness. So this is an illness caused by heartbreak. I'm so sorry."

Ash would lay there quietly. He didn't really want to talk about the matter. He was also a little embarrassed that his mother just told his doctor that he was up all night crying.

"I'm going to take his temperature." he said as he fumbled through his bag for the thermometer.

"Hey doctor, is my baby sick too?" Ash asked.

"I can't be really sure." he responded. "Let me just take your temperature first." he said while taking out the thermometer. "Just put this under your tongue and close your mouth for a few minutes okay?" Ash nodded in agreement. Dr. Carter waited a few minutes before taking the thermometer out of Ash's mouth. "Hmm '101.4'... that is a bit high. But fortunately it's not too serious."

"Thank goodness." said Delia in relief.

"Just make sure he gets lots of rest. If nothing changes in two days then give me a call."

"So is my baby okay?" Ash asked again.

"Most likely your baby is just fine. Make sure you get plenty of rest and eat normally and everything will be fine."

"Again thank you so much for coming." said Delia once more.

"Oh it's no problem at all. Just call me if something happens or if his fever is still high after a few days. I'll be checking back on the 10th. That's four days from now. Make sure you take care of yourself, okay Ash?"

"Alright... Thank you..." As he said that he didn't realized that he exposed the hand that he injured yesterday.

"Oh my." said Dr. Carter. "What happened here?"

"Oh yeah..." he said as he looked at his hand. "I kinda punched the wall yesterday out of anger..."

"Well please don't do anything like that again. Alright?"

"Sure..." he said with a weak smile

After Dr. Carter left, Brock went to get a washcloth and soaked it in cold water to place it over Ash's forehead in hopes that it would bring his fever down. Pikachu remained by his side the whole time fearing that something might happen if he left. After Brock put the cloth on Ash's head he decided to let him rest.

"You keep an eye on him. Okay Pikachu?" he said.

"Pika pika." he agreed.

Brock stepped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him. A few minutes later Professor Oak had arrived at the house after Tracey told him what happened. Delia opened the door up for him.

"Professor?"

"Hello Delia." he said. "Tracey told me what happened yesterday when I arrived home this morning."

"Well why don't you come in? I just made a new pot of tea."

"Yes... Thank you."

She took him into the kitchen where she poured him a cup a tea. They both sat at the table and began talking.

"So how's Ash doing?" he asked.

"Not so good I'm afraid. The situation upset him so much that he made himself sick. But I called Dr. Carter over here this morning and he said some bed rest should make the fever go away."

"Well that might go away easily but the pain of heartbreak won't."

"I wish I could do something to make him feel better."

"Richie still doesn't know about the pregnancy doesn't he?"

"No... I think he still needs to know even though what he did to Ash is unforgivable." she said as an angry look forming on her face.

"I can tell you're very angry with him."

"I really don't like being angry with anybody but the fact that Richie took my son's youth away and goes and gets a girlfriend behind his back just makes me so..."

Delia didn't finish her sentence. She stood silent and stared at her tea.

"Though I complete support Ash, we only really heard his side of the story. We need to give Richie the benefit of the doubt here."

"But he never even bothered to call Ash back..."

"Well I can see a logical reason for that. Ash never spoke to Richie, he spoke to his girlfriend. And then Ash told her that he had the wrong number and hung up. I bet the girl never passed the message on to Richie meaning that he probably doesn't even know that Ash had called him."

"Uh... that's right... Richie might not even know that Ash called."

"I think that when Ash is ready, he should try and call Richie again. And this time he really needs to talk to him."

"I don't know if Ash will ever want to call him back. Maybe I should try calling them."

"That's not a wise choice. I really doubt that Ash or Richie would feel comfortable about that. Ash needs to be the one to tell him. No one else."

"Yeah... you're right."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Ash will call him back when the time is right. Just give him a chance."

"Alright I will. Thank you Professor."

* * *

Brock had gone out for a walk earlier after he made sure Ash was alright. He really needed to clear his head. The only one he had been thinking about for the past few months is Ash. No matter what, all he could do was worry about him. As he was walking he happened to run into Misty and Tracey who also went for a walk after worrying about Ash. The two of them were walking hand in hand like any other couple would have.

"Hi Brock..." said Misty. "What brings you out here?"

"Just needed to clear my mind. And you two?"

"The same..." said Tracey.

"How's Ash doing?" Misty asked Brock.

"Not so great... He has a fever."

"Will he and the baby be okay?" asked Tracey.

"Yeah... He just needs a day to rest. He's finally asleep. He couldn't sleep all night. And neither could I."

"We didn't sleep so well either..." said Misty. "All we thought about was Ash."

"Professor Oak came back from his conference this morning and I told him everything." Tracey said. "I think he said he was going over to Ash's house to check up on him."

The three teenagers began walking down the trail only discussing the matter of their heartbroken friend.

"That two-faced rat Richie..." Misty grunted. "This is all his fault. He just puts on that sweet act just to get in your pants. That's probably how he got his girlfriend."

"Don't you think that's kind of a harsh accusation?" Tracey asked Misty.

"What are you saying? Are you trying to defend Richie?"

"No I'm just saying that we don't have the whole story here. I mean I believe Ash completely but there are still some things that even he doesn't know."

"Tracey's right Misty." Brock said. "I thought about the same thing last night. Believe me I wanted to skin Richie alive after what happened but Ash still never gotta chance to talk to him. We still need to hear what Richie has to say."

"Hmm... I guess you're right..."

"When Ash gets better he should try calling Richie once more. Then will see wh..."

Before Brock got to finish what he was saying he along with Misty and Tracey fell in a disguised hole. They all screamed in shock as they went in.

"Well that hurt..." Brock said with his face in the dirt.

"Misty... Are you okay?" Tracey asked Misty who was in his arms.

"I'm fine... What about you?"

"I'm okay but I landed on something lumpy."

"Yeah, that was me..." said Brock who had both Tracey and Misty on top of him.

"Oops... Sorry Brock." he said as he and Misty got off of him and helped him up. It wasn't very long before they heard a familiar sinister laugh of their old enemies Jesse, James and Meowth of Team Rocket.

"Prepare for... Hey wait a minute. Where's Pikachu?" shouted Jessie

"Not here so why don't you just leave us alone?" shouted Misty.

"Alright!" shouted Meowth. "What's the deal here? The twerp's been actin' weird eva sense he got back from the Aspen Region. And why isn't he on a pokemon journey or somethin'?"

"That's really none of your business!" Brock yelled from down in the hole.

"Well then if we can't take Pikachu today, then will just how to make due with your Pokemon!" said James.

"If you think were going down without a fight, you're wrong!" Tracey shouted as he pulled out a pokeball from his pocket. "Go Scyther!" he said as he called for his green mantis-like pokemon.

"SCYTHER!" he said as he came out of the ball and took to the sky.

"Come on out Foretress!" Brock commanded.

"Gyarados! I choose you!" shouted Misty.

From their pokeballs, out came Brocks armored-shelled pokemon Foretress and Misty's large dragon-like pokemon Gyarados.

"Forrretresss!"

Gyarados also let out a mighty roar.

"Alright then..." Jessie said. "Go Dustox!"

"Dustox!" shouted her moth pokemon.

"Go Cacnea!" James called out.

"Cacnea!" it said but then turned around and hugged James.

"Eeee! No! Not again!"

"Gyarados!" said Misty. "Give Dustox a taste of your Hydro Pump!"

The Gyarados obediently listened to his trainer as he let out a highly pressurized stream of water directly for Dustox.

"Dustox!" called Jessie. "Use Psy Beam!"

"DUSTOX!" it yelled as a Psy Beam attack came from its eyes and countered Gyarados' Hydro Pump.

"Go Scyther!" Tracey called. "Attack Cacnea with your Fury Cutter!"

"SCY!" he said with his claws arched out and made his way towards Cacnea.

"Cacnea!" called James. "Use Needle Arm on Scyther!"

"Cacne-A!"

The two Pokemon went on a barrage of counter attacks trying to hit each other it almost looked like a duel. Soon Scyther backed off because he was getting tired.

"Scyther... scy... scyther..." he said weakly.

"Foretress! Use Rapid Spin on Cacnea!" Brock commanded.

"Forretress!" he said as he started to spin furiously.

"Heh! Watch out Cacnea!" yelled James. Unfortunately for Cacnea it was too distracted by battling Scyther it didn't notice the fast spinning Foretress heading right for it. Cacnea was then struck down by the strongly armored pokemon.

"CAC...nea!" it cried as it was struck to the ground.

"Eek! No! Cacnea!" yelled James.

"Thanks a lot Brock" Tracey thanked.

"Honestly James!" Jessie barked. "Do I have to do everything myself? GO SEVIPER!" she yelled as she threw out another pokeball containing her lead Pokemon.

"Sevviperrrr!" it hissed.

"Get that stupid Foretress with Poison Tail!"

"Sevvvvviperrr!" it said as it swung its barbed tail at Foretress.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Misty. "Gyarados! Use Slam!"

Gyarados let out a roar and used his mighty tail to slam Seviper into the ground stopping it in its tracks. This automatically caused Seviper to black out as it lie flat and motionless on the ground.

"AAH!" yelled Meowth. "Seviper just turned into a belt!"

"Urgh! THAT'S IT!" yelled an aggravated Jessie. "Dustox! Use Silver Wind on all of them!

"Dus...TOX!" it said as it fluttered its wings profusely causing a silvery gust. The group of trainers started to take cover from the wind.

"Quick Scyther!" said Tracey. "Use your Swords Dance to whirl through that Silver Wind!"

"Scyther!" he obeyed as he started spin around and maneuver himself though the wind.

"Huh? Oh no..." said a worried Jessie. Just then Jessie's bumbling pokemon Wobbuffet came out of its ball unannounced.

"WOBBUFFET!" it shouted. But no one seemed to be paying attention to it at the moment.

Once Scyther was able to get up to Dustox, Tracey gave the next command.

"Great Scyther! Now use Head Butt!"

"Scy...THER!" he said as he head butted Dustox which sent it crashing.

"Dustox!" it said while falling until it eventually hit the ground.

"I think we're in trouble now!" said James nervously.

"I think Foretress and I do the honors." said Brock. "Foretress! Give them your strongest Take Down!"

"Forrretress!" he yelled as he went at maximum speed towards Team Rocket. But all they did was start screaming in a panic afraid of what was going to happen. This is when the unnoticed Wobbuffet jumped into action by using its famous Counter Attack.

"WOBBB!" it said as it started to glow. Once Foretress hit it, his Take Down was directed at him tenfold and was sent speeding backwards right for Brock.

"Foorr!"

"Uh! Foretress!" Brock yelled in worry. Completely disregarding his own well being Brock jumped in the way of Foretress in hopes that he would save him from a really hard crash. But because of this bold move, Brock was also sent flying backwards with his pokemon. The two were eventually stopped when the both smacked into a rock. Brock let out a scream as he felt a tremendous pain in his shoulder while Foretress lay there unconscious.

"BROCK!" yelled Misty and Tracey.

"Quick!" said Meowth. "Let's get outta here!"

"Good idea!" said Jessie and James as they started to run off.

"WOBBBA!" yelled the Wobbuffet as it ran off with them.

"You..." Misty angrily said as she turned to look at them running away. "Gyarados! Hyper Beam NOW!"

Gyarados obeyed his trainer and soon gathered up energy in his mouth. Then he jetted out a big golden beam which hit near by were Team Rocket was running causing a explosion.

"Well we messed up big time..." said Meowth.

"Oh be quiet Meowth!" said Jessie. "I don't want to hear it!"

"And I don't want to hear it when we say..." James said waiting for a finish.

"...We're blasting off AGAIN!" they all said

"WOBBUFFET!" said the Wobbuffet as his voice faded out the farther they blasted away until they all turned into a star.

Down on the ground, Misty and Tracey rushed over to Brock who was trying to cradle his arm.

"Brock! Are you alright?" Misty asked.

"I think so..." he said as he tried to move his arm. But he stopped when the pain struck him. "AH! Maybe not."

"Don't try to move that arm..." Misty said as she tried to help him.

"That was a pretty crazy thing to jump in front of Foretress like that." Tracey commented. "With that armored shell and moving at that speed it's a miracle you only got away with a broken arm."

"I know but I just didn't want him to be hurt more than he already was..." he said as he looked down at his fainted pokemon. "You did great Foretress. You deserve a rest." he said as he got out Foretress' pokeball with his good arm and had him return.

"Let's get you back to Ash's house. Well see if Mrs. Ketchum could patch this up for you." said Misty

"Sounds good." he said

* * *

Back at Ash's house, Ash was just starting to awake after a short nap. Though, his fever was still a little bit high. Once he woke up he saw Pikachu sitting next to him.

"Pika pi!" the yellow mouse said, happy to see Ash awake.

"Hmm...Pikachu...?" he said, still dazed from the fever.

"Pika pika!"

When Ash sat up, the cloth that Brock had put on his head earlier fell off.

"Pikachu. Were you here this whole time looking after me?"

"Pikachu." he said as he nodded.

"Gee thanks Buddy." he said as he started to pet his pokemon. "You're a true pal."

"Pika pi..."

Though still a bit dizzy, Ash got out of bed and headed down stairs to see what his mother was doing. He held on to the banister with one hand to remain balanced and had the other hand on his stomach. He heard talking coming from the kitchen so he headed there first. He also thought he heard the voice of Professor Oak. He peeked his head in and saw his mother and the professor enjoying some tea. Then his mother noticed him looking in.

"Ash. You're awake!" she said as she walked up to him.

"Hi Mom." he said. "Hey Professor."

"Hello Ash." Professor Oak said. "How are you feeling?"

"Actually, I feel much better than before." he responded as his mother was putting her hand on his forehead.

"Your fever has definitely gone down a bit." she sighed in relief. "Do you have your appetite back yet? Maybe I could make you something to eat."

"Well... Maybe some cereal will be fine."

"One bowl a cereal coming up."

As she was preparing it for him, Ash turned to Professor Oak.

"So what brings you here Professor?" he asked.

"Pika pika?" the Pikachu wondered.

"Just came over to check up on you is all." he said. "I heard about what happened last night... I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay Professor... I'll live." he said as he began to sulk.

After Ash finished his cereal he asked his mother where Brock was.

"Hey Mom. Where's Brock?"

"He just went for a walk a while ago. He seemed stressed. I think he was really worried about you."

"He was? I didn't mean to worry him like that."

"Well I'm sure he'll feel a lot better once he sees you're feeling better."

Just then Ash let out a small gasp.

"Ash! What is it?" his mother asked.

"Mom... I think the baby's kicking!" he said with a big smile.

"Really?" she asked with excitement.

"Yeah! Come over and feel."

Delia put her hand on her son's belly and soon felt the baby kick as well.

"Oh my goodness..." she said. "That's a kick alright. It's so amazing to think that's my grandchild in there..."

"I know." said Professor Oak. "I had the same reaction as you when my daughter-in-law was carrying Gary."

"I'm so happy that my baby's okay." said Ash.

Then they all heard the front door open and shut as if someone was coming in. When they all left the kitchen they saw Brock grasping on to his left arm with his right hand and Misty holding on to his other arm. Tracey was right behind them.

"Brock, are you alright?" asked Professor Oak.

"We got attacked by Team Rocket and Brock hurt his arm." Misty explained.

"What...?" Ash said as he got a worried expression on his face.

"Really... I don't think it's that bad..." Brock tried to convince everyone. But they weren't going to believe him when they saw the look of pain on his face.

"Uh! Brock!" Ash yelled as he ran over to him.

"Huh... Ash! You're awake."

"Brock... you're hurt... Team Rocket did this to you?"

"Well it was kinda my fault too. I told Foretress to use Take Down on Wobbuffet but it used Counter. I tried to save Foretress from a nasty blow and that's how this happened."

"Oh my..." said Delia.

"Here Brock, just let me take a look at it." the professor said. He started to examine Brock's arm but when he touched it in certain places Brock cringed a little. "I do apologize Brock. I know this must hurt but I'm just checking for fractures."

"Fracture...?" Ash said now seemingly starting to panic.

"Well luckily I don't feel any breaks. I think you might just have a bad sprain. But that should heal in a matter of a week. Tracey, do you think you can take a run back to the lab and bring me my medical kit?"

"Sure! Right away Professor." he said as he headed out the door.

"I think I might have some herbs that help sprains in my back pack as well." said Brock.

"I'll get em' for you." Misty volunteered.

Tracey returned with in 15 minutes with the medical kit and Professor Oak and Delia began to bandage up Brock's injured arm. They also used the herbs that Brock had to ease the pain a little. After they finished, Brock decided to rest on the couch for a bit.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Delia asked Brock.

"Naw... that's okay. But thanks anyway Mrs. Ketchum.

"Try not to do too much work." said Professor Oak. "Your arm will heal much faster if you rest."

"Alright... Thank you Professor."

The two left Brock alone for the moment but then he was approached sheepishly by Ash. It took him a moment to speak up.

"...Hey... Brock?" he said shyly.

"Oh hey Ash. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry..."

"What for?" said Brock

"Well the only reason Team Rocket attacked you in the first place was because they were looking for me and Pikachu. And maybe if I hadn't worried you so much, you wouldn't have gone out for a walk."

"Ash, don't worry about it. It's not your fault at all."

"Well why can't I help feeling that it is...?"

Brock gave a little smile to Ash and then put his hand on Ash's head and messed with his hair.

"This isn't your fault. Believe me, I had plenty of opportunities to save myself from this but I didn't. If anything this was mostly my fault. Don't worry, I'm gonna be fine."

"You sure...?"

"Positive. I'm just glad to see you're a lot better." he said as he put his hand on Ash's forehead. "Seems that your fever's gone down a bit. That's good."

"Yeah... The baby even kicked a little not too long ago." he said as he released a smile.

"It's good to finally see you smiling again."


	9. Awakening Love

Yay! The rulers work again!

Anyways this is a short yet special chapter. This chapter reveals the gender and the name of Ash's baby! No skipping ahead please.

Also theres some Bouldershippage towards the end. Uh-oh! Looks like Richie wasn't the only one to go astray.

R&R plz

NOTE: 2/06/08: I noticed a BIG typo in the chapter. I wrote that Dr. Lawson was examining Ash in some parts when I meant to write Dr. Carter. I am fixing this error.

* * *

**Awakening Love**

1 month later...

Ash was officially in his 6th month and the third trimester of his pregnancy and it was pretty obvious. His stomach and grown faster in the past few weeks than it did at the beginning. Today would be a particularly exciting. It was the day Ash would finally find out what the gender of his baby was. He was eccentrically eager to know because he couldn't stop looking out the window checking for Dr. Carter's car every two seconds.

"Ash, don't worry." said his mother. "He'll be here soon."

"I know. I'm just really excited is all." he said happily. "Aren't you?"

"Yes, yes!" she giggled.

Just then Ash saw the Dr. Carter's car pull up outside.

"He's here!" Ash yelled, his mannerisms mimicking that of a little kid.

Brock opened up the door for the doctor and he and Ash greeted him.

"Hello Dr. Carter." said Brock.

"Good morning." he replied with a smile. "So is Ash ready?"

"You bet I am!" said Ash excitedly as he seemingly came out of nowhere and was now standing in Dr. Carter's face. This caused him to laugh a little bit.

"I see that you're really excited today!" he said in a laugh.

"I can't wait any longer!" he said has he started to pull on Dr. Carter's coat. "Come on!" He tried to pull the doctor up the stairs with him as one hand was gripping on to Dr. Carter's sleeve and the other was holding on to his stomach.

"Okay okay!" said Dr. Carter said, still laughing.

Upstairs, Dr. Carter and Ash would follow their usually routine. Delia had already laid out a towel over Ash's bed for him to lie on. After he would lie down, Ash then lifted up his shirt exposing his large belly.

"Well today's the day we find out if your carrying a little boy or girl." the doctor said as he got out the tube of jelly that he would spread around Ash's stomach.

"I know, I know, I know!" he said still sounding excited. "I could barely sleep last night I was so excited."

"Well will be finding out in one moment..." he said as he rubbed the jelly on Ash's stomach. "But first, let's see how your baby is doing today."

Dr. Carter then got out the probe for his portable ultra sound machine and started to motion it around in circles on Ash's stomach. Delia had sat by Ash's side holding on to his hand while Brock stood close by. Dr. Carter quickly found Ash's baby who was visibly much bigger than before. He then turned the screen of the laptop down so Ash could see his child.

"It seems that your baby is doing well. Seems to be very active today."

"You kidding? It's been active everyday. Especially right after I eat."

The doctor took a moment to examine the baby took conclude its gender.

"Well by the looks of it, you're going to have a beautiful baby girl." he said with a smile.

"Really...?" Ash said almost speechless. Though he wanted a boy in the beginning he was still overjoyed that he was going to have a daughter. "Wow... I really don't know what to say here." he said as he started to choke up with joy. His mother continued to grip his hand.

"Wow... A granddaughter..." Delia also said nearly crying from joy herself.

"And I bet she's going to be the most gorgeous around." Brock commented.

"And Richie doesn't even know she exists..." Ash said sounding disappointed. "What if she never gets to know her father...?"

"Try not to think about that right now." said Brock. "This is supposed to be a happy day for you. Try to think about all the good times your going to have with your baby."

"You're right Brock." Ash said with a stern look. "All that matters is what I do for my baby. And I will do everything that I can to raise her right. As long as I do that then everything will be okay."

"That's the way to think Ash!" Dr. Carter said. "If you think positively then mostly likely you'll start to feel better about yourself."

"You know... I'm starting to feel a little better already... Thank you Doctor."

After Ash got cleaned up, Dr. Carter gave him some advice on how much rest and exercise he should be getting and then left. Then Ash felt like telling everybody he knew that he was having a girl. So he called Professor Oak, Misty, and May and Max and told them all the great news. But there was still one person he needed to tell, and that was Richie. But Ash still didn't feel that he was quite ready to call him up again.

* * *

The next day came and Misty and Tracey decided to pay a visit to the Ketchum residence. Misty also brought with her a giant pink stuffed Teddiursa which she had Tracey carry for her. She went and bought it yesterday as a gift for Ash's baby. Ash thanked Misty for the present and assured her that his daughter would love it. He invited the two into the kitchen for a glass of lemonade that Brock had made. Misty noticed a book on the kitchen table and picked it up. 

"Hey Ash... What's this?" she asked.

"Oh that's a book of names my mom gave me. She actually found my name in there when she was wondering what to name me. She thought I might get some ideas for names from it."

"Have you seen anything you might like?" Tracey asked.

"Nope... Not yet."

"Let's see..." Misty said as she flipped through the book. "...how about... Marisol?"

"That's a pretty name." Brock commented.

"Hmm... I don't know..."

"Or how bout Lorie?" Tracey suggested as he glanced at the book. "That name has been getting really popular."

"Well... I kinda wanted something original. But I just haven't figured out what it is yet."

"I'm sure you'll find what you want in due time." said Brock.

"I still think Marisol would suit you well..." Misty said while talking to Ash's stomach.

"Oh come on Misty." Tracey said. "Don't push him into a name he doesn't want."

"I guess your right. Besides... we should save it for our little one..." she said as she put her hand on the side of her face and blushed.

"Wha...wha... OUR little one?" Tracey replied nervously.

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu laughed at the way Tracey spoke. Then they all sat down to enjoy the lemonade. Even Pikachu had his own glass.

"This is really good lemonade Brock." said Tracey.

"Pikachu!" said Pikachu.

"Yeah. I think it's the best batch you've ever made." said Misty

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it." Brock took a moment to take a sip of his glass. Then he noticed Ash looking through the book of names again. "Did you see anything you like yet?" he asked him.

"Not yet..." he responded. "I've been thinking... Is it really fair for me to name her without Richie's opinion?"

"I guess it wouldn't. But then again I don't think it was very fair what he did to you either."

Ash sat in silence for one moment thinking about those three words. _"I'm his girlfriend." _The phrase had kept repeating itself over and over in Ash's mind for the past month. He tried to shake off the thought.

"...You know... I actually don't know all that much about Richie. I mean he never talked about his parents or where he lived or anything like that."

"That is strange..." Brock said while putting his hand on his chin. "Maybe he just never wanted to talk about it."

"Or maybe he just never wanted me to know... Maybe he didn't like me as much as I thought..."

"I'm sure that isn't true." Misty added in. "And if it is, then something's wrong with him. It's impossible not to like you."

"Yeah." Tracey also added. "You're a great person. You're someone we can always count on for help and someone that would never turn your back on a friend in need."

"You really think so?"

"We know so." Brock said.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Thanks guys..." he said. "You're really great people too. And great friends as well..."

But then Ash stayed quiet yet again thinking about what Richie's home life was like. Was it so terrible that he didn't ever want to speak of it? But Ash also recalled Richie's "girlfriend." She seemed to be dressed as someone of high class. Could that possibly mean anything?

* * *

An hour later, after Misty and Tracey headed back to Professor Oak's laboratory, Brock went outside to weed out the garden for Delia. One of the many chores that he decided to do for her that day. The weeds were growing around her rose bushes and she started to worry that they might kill them. As Brock began to pull the weeds out, Ash came outside to see what he was doing. 

"More chores Brock?" asked Ash.

"Pikachu?" asked Pikachu

"Well, you know me. I always have to be doing something. I'm just getting these weeds out for your mom." Brock said as Ash came over and sat next to him.

"You seem to do a lot of things for my mom. Is that cause you're in love with her?"

"Wha? Me? No!"

"Ah but your blushing." Ash said slyly has he began to help pull out some of the weeds.

"Well don't get me wrong, she is an attractive woman, but I could never think about dating her. That'd be... well kinda weird..."

"Yeah that's true."

"I guess I help her out because I used to do these things around my own house. I know what it's like to be the head of the household and having to take care of most of the work so I like to help out anyway I can."

As Ash turned his head to listen to Brock, he didn't really pay attention to what he was pulling on and ended up grabbing a part of the rose bush.

"OUCH!" he screamed as pulled back his arm from the rose bush.

"What happened?" Brock jumped.

"Pika pi!"

"Ow... Stupid thorns!" he said as he put his finger in his mouth.

"Here, let me see it."

As Brock took a hold of his hand, Ash noticed that Brock's face was really close to his. For some reason this caused Ash's face to turn bright red. He didn't know why but he was feeling a little flustered. Could he possibly have a small crush on Brock? Meanwhile Brock was examining Ash's finger and saw that a small sphere of blood started to appear where he had gotten pricked. Then Brock wiped some of the blood away and noticed a small part of the thorn was still in there.

"The thorn's still stuck. Let's go inside so I can pull it out."

After they went inside Brock got out a pair of tweezers so that he could remove the thorn from Ash's finger.

"Just be sure to hold still okay?" Brock said as he held Ash's wrist.

"Okay." he complied.

"Almost... Got it!" he said after he successfully removed it. Then he got out some antiseptic and cleaned up Ash's small wound.

"That stings..." he said.

"Well that just means its working." Brock then got out a band aid and wrapped up Ash's index finger. "Does that feel better?"

"Yeah... Thanks a lot Brock." he said with a smile.

"No problem. Just be a little more careful around those rose bushes next time."

"Pika..."

"Sure..." he said as he gazed at his finger. He still felt the warmth from Brock when he held his hand. He knew Brock had always cared for him like that but this was the first time Ash had ever felt this way about it. "Hey Brock...?" he said sheepishly.

"Yeah?"

"I really mean that when I say thank you, you know? Not just for the bandage but everything you have done for me during my pregnancy. I think you've gone above and beyond what you've needed to do. You're one of the most caring friends I have and also one of the greatest."

"Pika..." said Pikachu sounding disappointed. He thought he was Ash's greatest friend."

"Oh! Sorry... Greatest HUMAN friend." he said correcting himself while giving Pikachu a friendly pat on the head.

"Pikachu!" he said sounding content.

"Gee... you really think that?" Brock said while blushing and putting his arm behind his head. "Wow, thank you Ash..."

Ash then walked over to Brock and hugged him.

"Thank you for being such a great friend." Ash said while he rested his head on Brock's chest. He then got that warm feeling again. The warm feeling that he would only get from Brock. Not even Richie gave him this feeling. Was this warm feeling... love? Or something more? Brock got a bit confused by Ash's behavior and just thought it was his raging hormones again. So he comforted a little by hugging him back.

"You're welcome Ash Ketchum..." he said. "And no matter what, I'll always be here for you. I promise."

That night Ash didn't go to sleep right away for he wanted to look through the book of names once more. He thought of a name he really liked but wanted to have a similar version it. It didn't take him long to find the name that would be perfect. He then put the book down, shut off his lamp, and went to sleep feeling happy.

* * *

After the sun rose he went down stairs to where his mother was making breakfast and asked if it would be okay if Professor Oak, Misty, and Tracey could join them. He wanted to make an announcement and wanted to tell the closest people to him. Though surprised his mother agreed and called up the professor and invited him over a long with Misty and Tracey. The three arrived around 9:00 am still wondering what was going on. The three came in and sat at the kitchen table along with Ash's mother but someone was still missing. 

"Hey Mom where's Brock?" Ash asked.

"Oh I think he wanted to work out in the garden today. He said he wanted to skip breakfast."

"Well not today! I have something I need to say." he said as he walked out of the kitchen and went to find him.

"What do you suppose he wants to tell us?" the professor wondered.

"I have no idea. He just said to get everyone over here for breakfast and that he had an announcement to make."

"Okay, okay!" they all heard coming from the back yard. "Just quit pushing me!"

Then they saw Brock being pushed in through the kitchen door by Ash.

"Just have a seat." Ash said as he pulled out a chair for Brock and shoved him in it.

"Okay, now that were all here, what did you want to tell us?" asked his mother.

"Well I called you all over here today to tell you I have decided a name for the baby."

"You did?" they all said.

"Yeah, I know I thought I should wait to see what Richie thinks, but I really fill strongly about this name because it means a lot to me."

"The suspense is killing us!" Misty yelled. "Just tell us!"

"Well I don't know about the last and middle names are gonna go, but I definitely want her first name to be 'Brooke'."

"Brooke?" they all said.

"Pi...?" said Pikachu.

"That's such a beautiful name Ash." said his mother. "What made you think of it?"

"Well I really wanted to name her after Brock."

"Who ME?" Brock said in shock.

"Yeah, so I looked in the book under names that start with 'Br' and came across Brooke. I loved the way it sounded and stuck with it."

"Is there a reason you wanted to give her a name like Brock's" Professor Oak asked.

"Yes. You see yesterday I realized just how much Brock has done for me. He was the one person who always seemed to make me feel better. I know you've all done all you could to help me out during this rough and confusing stage for me and I thank you for that. But Brock has been around me the longest when I went out on my journeys and did so much for me, Pikachu, Misty, May, and Max. Every time one of us would get sick he'd be the first one to jump in and take care of us. If one of us got hurt, he'd be the one to bandage up our wounds. And when one of us felt like quitting on something, he'd be there to talk us out of it and would help us with our problems and get us to believe in ourselves again. And that's why... I named her Brooke; as a token of my appreciation to Brock. For helping not just me, but for helping us and the pokemon."

Ash's touching words started to make Brock cry. He never knew just how much of an impact he made on Ash.

"Everything Ash just said is true." said Misty. "Brock has helped us all out more than he needed to and for that he deserves to be applauded for it."

"I...I...I don't know what to say..." stuttered Brock. "I'm so honored that you'd wanna name your child after me..." he said while wiping a tear from his eye.

"And I'm honored to have you as a friend." Ash said with a smile. He then went and wrapped his good friend in a hug. "And I also know that you'll make a great uncle."

"Uncle…? Really?"

"Of course! You and all my best friends can be her aunts and uncles. You're all really great people who I'd love to have in Brooke's life. That is if you accept."

"Of course we accept!" Brock said happily. Tracey and Misty agreed also.

"Pika pika!" said a happy Pikachu.

"And I know Pikachu will be around to help too, won't ya Buddy?"

"Pikachu!" he nodded.

With that the group all sat down at the table and began to talk about the things they would do once Brooke arrived. But Ash also thought about what he said to Brock about being Brooke's uncle. Did he really want Brock to be her uncle, or perhaps her father? But he quickly shook the thought. Brock wasn't interested in him in THAT way.

* * *

Misty: Aww you were sooo cute with the "Our little one" line Tracey! -_kisses_- 

Tracey: Heh thanks! -_blushes_-

Misty: So you think we really will have our own baby one day?

Tracey: Uh... sure we will... I just hope that the writer doesn't make ME pregnant!

Me: Hmm... -_looks at Tracey with an evil smile_- Muhahha!

Tracey: Hey! Don't look at me like that!

Ash: And it keeps getting weirder...


	10. Who is Richie Belmont?

Hey guys! sorry i haven't updated in a while. i actually finished this on Saturday but FF was being mean to me and wasn't letting me upload it. Well as long as i have it up now. As i was waiting, I actually finished chapter 11 as well.

yeah, anyway this is the chapter that a lot of you been waiting for. Richie finally enters! i know you were already to kill me if ididn't put him in soon. j/k.

it's mostly narrative explaining Richie's life story. ya might want a tissue cause there's a sad part in it. there's one thing i need point out. In one of the pokemon chronicles, Richie mentioned he came from somewhere called Frodomar City. I don't know if he was telling the truth or not but i put it as the city he's from.

Enjoy! Please R&R

**

* * *

**

**Who is Richie Belmont?**

To the far east of Kanto exists a place called Frodomar City. It is a large metropolitan area that consists of a lot of big businesses. Many of the business tycoons started their businesses here and built homes there. Because of the large population of big business owners, Frodomar City mainly consists of the rich or people with high social status.

But one of the main tycoons is a man named Robert Belmont. His father played a big part in the creation in the newer modeled pokeball. He took over his father's business after he died and inherited his mass fortune.

However, even after becoming one of the richest men in the world, he still felt he was missing something in his life. That was until he met the stunning actress known as Penelope Holmes. She had long blonde hair and the most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen. Robert knew from the second he laid eyes on her that he wanted to marry her. After about five months of dating they decided to tie the knot.

About a year of marriage they felt that they were ready to take on the responsibility of raising a baby. Nine months later, Penelope gave Robert a son. The baby also had inherited Penelope's blue eyes. They both decided to name him after Robert's father, Richard. Thus he was known as Richard Belmont II. Though later on, he would love to go by the nickname, Richie.

Being born into a rich family, Richie seemed to have everything a little boy could want such as toys and a fabulous place to live. But still, he was a somewhat sad child. His parent's were never around due to their jobs and he really didn't have any friends. The only time he'd ever had someone to talk to was when his grandfather, from his mother's side, came to visit him every weekend. His grandfather had been a pokemon trainer in his younger days and brought some of his old friends along on visits. This caused Richie to be intrigued by the world of Pokemon and made him want to become a pokemon trainer himself one day.

Even though Richie's father, Robert, owned a company that manufactured pokeballs, he did not like pokemon whatsoever. Quite strange, considering the fact that his father adored them. The reason why he disliked them so much was always unknown to Richie. That's why, when Richie reached his tenth birthday, he was not at all thrilled of his son's decision. Robert always wanted Richie to inherit his company instead of him being one of the "suckers" that but the products. After a long while of begging and with the help of his grandfather, Richie was finally able to convince his father to let him chase his dream.

Of course, every starting trainer needs to have a starting pokemon right? That's why, the following day, Richie's grandfather took him to a local breeding center to pick out his very own Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. Though he had his heart set on getting Charmander, his favorite pokemon, something would happen on the way over that would make him consider on choosing another certain pokemon.

As his grandfather was taking a route through the city to reach the breeding center, they came across a block that was completely blacked out. All the traffic lights were out causing the traffic to be in complete chaos. Richie and his grandfather found all this to be very peculiar. Why was there no power here? Just then, out of the blue, a large thunder bolt appeared from behind one of the buildings nearly causing everyone to trip. Being that there weren't any clouds around; Richie's grandfather knew it had to come from a pokemon. He, along with a few others, went to investigate what kind of pokemon it was. Even though told by his grandfather to stay by the car, Richie followed behind the crowd of people who were walking into the alley.

Richie managed to push past some of the adults and that's when he saw it. A small pikachu with a tiny tuft of hair sticking out from its forehead. However, something didn't seem right about it. It was lying on the ground with its cheeks sparking lightly. It was also weakly crying. Richie then over heard his grandfather saying that it was sick and needed help immediately. He also explained that the pikachu was giving of a negative current which was probably the reason why everything electric suddenly stopped working. Even though it needed help, the pikachu would launch a thunderbolt at anyone who approached. Concerned, Richie ran up to his grandfather and asked how they could help it. This didn't surprise his grandfather at all. Richie always had a love for pokemon just like he did. Then Richie tried to talk to the ill pikachu in a very gentle voice. He tried to explain to it that he was only there to help and that he meant no harm to it. Though its cheeks were still sparking, the pikachu did not fire a thunder bolt at Richie when he approached. Richie continued to talk to it in a gentle voice while walking slowly towards it until he finally reached the pikachu. Fortunately, the pikachu began to trust him enough not to attack and Richie was able to pick him up. That's when he found out how hot it was. His grandfather said that there was a pokemon center just a block away and the two rushed over quickly. Once they got there, because of the pikachu's negative current it caused the power of the pokemon center to cut off as well. But fortunately the center had a back up generator that was not affected by electricity. Richie gave the ill pikachu to the Nurse Joy and she quickly took it into the ER.

After a few minutes past without Richie budging, his grandfather mentioned that they still had time to get his starter pokemon. But he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay until he knew that pikachu was alright. His grandfather agreed and phoned Richie's parents that he and Richie might spend the night over there.

The next morning came and Richie woke up around 9 am. His grandfather had just come back from the cafeteria with some breakfast for him. Richie immediately asked if the pikachu was alright but his grandfather said that he hadn't heard anything yet. A few minutes later, Nurse Joy came out of the emergency room. She told them that the pikachu was doing just fine now and could probably leave the pokemon center by that night. Relieved, Richie hugged his grandfather with joy. A minute later, he asked Nurse Joy if he could possibly see the pikachu. She agreed and took him back to the recover room.

The pikachu was asleep on the bed. But as soon as Richie entered, it began to wake up. He asked how it was doing and held out his hand. It was a bit shy at first, but once it knew Richie was no threat to it, it quickly became fond of him. Through out the rest of the day, Richie stayed with the pikachu and built a friendship with it. Nurse Joy even commented to his grandfather on how close they were already. Then he explained to her that they were on there way to get Richie's first pokemon before the situation happened. But he now believed that there was no need to go to the breeding center. It seemed that Richie had discovered his first pokemon all on his own. Richie overheard what his grandfather had said. Was it really possible for him to start of with a pikachu? The two of them talked it over and decided that since Richie had already bonded with this pokemon that it would be a great companion along his pokemon journeys. Of course, it had to be okay with the pikachu as well. Richie asked his new pokemon friend if it would like to become his first pokemon. Without hesitation, the pikachu smiled and jumped on to Richie's shoulder.

Now that Richie had his own pokemon, he felt it best if he gave his new friend a nickname. Because the pikachu's cheeks frequently sparked when it became excited, he gave him the name "Sparky". The very next day, Richie left on his pokemon journey in hopes of becoming a pokemon master.

During his journey through Kanto, he had come across many pokemon and managed to catch and train some of them. And if you travel, you are bound to come across interesting people and even make new friends. Richie had made many friends during his journey but there was one in particular that stayed in his mind. It was boy by the name of Ash Ketchum who bared a slight resemblance to Richie. He even had a pikachu with him. Richie met him when he reached the Indigo Plateau. Ash was also going to participate in the pokemon league competition and the two became fast friends. But of course that friendship would be put to the test when the two were pitted against each other in the tournament and became rivals. When the time came for the competition, Richie walked into the arena not seeing Ash anywhere. He waited for hours for Ash to arrive but he still hadn't shown. The referee was about to disqualify Ash but Richie insisted that they wait just a bit longer. He knew that Ash was one determined trainer and he would never not show up for a battle. Soon enough, Ash finally came. He didn't have enough time to explain what happen to him and the battle began. However there was something really wrong. All of Ash's pokemon were exhausted and hardly put up a fight against Richie's. The only pokemon on Ash's team that wasn't weakened was his disobedient Charizard. It quickly knocked out Sparky with a flamethrower but Richie still had one pokemon left. His charmander named Zippo. However, Ash's charizard refused to fight Zippo being that it was the pre evolved form of it. Because of Charizard's refusal to fight, Ash was disqualified and Richie was declared the winner of the battle. Though, Richie didn't feel too good about winning being that Ash's pokemon weren't even at there best and neither was he. Richie felt so guilty about beating him that he couldn't concentrate in the next battle and lost making him only best 8 instead of the winner.

After the loss, Richie sat by a lake cradling the injured Sparky. All of a sudden some one called him from behind. It was Ash. He had been watching Richie's battle and saw what happened. Ash was just checking up on him to see if he was alright. At that moment, Richie didn't really care about the lost of the battle. He was just glad Ash didn't hate his guts. He didn't admit to him, but Richie seemed to have a small crush on Ash. He didn't want to tell him because he thought Ash had feelings for Misty. But still, that didn't stop him from enjoying the rest of the day hanging out with Ash. It wasn't until the two of them were inside the competition stadium that they said their goodbyes. That's when to two of them promised each other that they would both become successful pokemon masters.

Since meeting Ash, Richie really hadn't been interested in battling. Instead he was interested in learning about all of the legendary pokemon such as Lugia or Ho-oh. He even managed to meet up with Ash once more in the Whirl Islands were they got to save a mother Lugia and her child from Team Rocket. Since then Richie and Ash hadn't seen each other for a while. But Richie was also lucky enough to get to see a Celebi and a Moltres. After a couple of years had past, Richie got word that Ash had become the Battle Frontier champion some time ago. Wanting to be able to congratulate him in person, he made his way towards Pallet Town and met up with him. The two were happy to see each other and Richie even got to meet Ash's new friends, May and Max. Ash described what the battles were like in the battle frontier which caused Richie to become interested in battling again. It was then that he decided that he was going to compete in it as well. Richie didn't know why but he asked Ash if he started dating yet. Ash said that he went out with Misty before and after the Battle Frontier but the two realized that they really weren't into each other as much as they thought. While Ash was in the Hoenn League, Misty had spent a lot of time with Tracey and the two fell for each other. As for Ash, he couldn't get himself to be romantically involved with Misty. And for those reasons the two of them both decided that they were better off as friends than as lovers.

On the night before Richie would leave Pallet Town, Ash's mother had thrown a party for Ash. Ash was going to start another pokemon journey as well. Richie felt that this would be his only chance to tell Ash how he felt before they would part ways again. Once the two of them were in Ash's room alone, Richie confessed that he was in love with him. Ash was a bit shocked but not at all hostile. Then he also the realized that maybe the reason he wasn't interested in Misty was because he was gay. In a way this offered closure for Ash. The two sat on Ash's bed and talked a little while longer. As they did, they found themselves lovingly touching each other. As time passed on they began to kiss and eventually had sex. That one night made Richie feel better than ever before. He no longer had the worry of never being able to express his true feelings. However, he knew his parents, especially his father, would never except who he really was. So he asked Ash that they keep their relationship a secret. Ash agreed thinking that his mother and friends might not understand either. The next day they would have to separate once more and they bid each other farewell.

Since then Richie had been trying for the Battle Frontier and managed to win 3 frontier symbols. As he was training in preparation for the next Frontier Brain, he got a call from his mother who had devastating news. Richie's grandfather had fallen gravely ill and was now hospitalized. She told him that she didn't know how much time he had left. Without hesitation, Richie returned home immediately to see his grandfather possibly for the last time. When he arrived at the hospital he was met by his mother. She showed him the way to his grandfather's room. When Richie saw him he was in utter shock. His grandfather didn't look like himself at all. He was extremely pale and appeared to have lost a lot of weight. He had machines hooked up to him left and right that were keeping him alive and stable. Though weak, he was happy to see that his grandson had come to see him. He wanted Richie to tell him how his pokemon journey was going. Richie complied telling him about the legendary pokemon he saw and the Battle Frontier all the while trying to choke back tears. They spent the rest of the day together talking until the visiting hours were over. But before Richie left, he felt that he had to tell his grandfather one more thing incase he wouldn't get a second chance. While trying to hold back the tears in his eyes, he came out to his grandfather about his sexuality. After he said it he couldn't hold it back any longer and began crying. His grandfather then put his hand on Richie's face and wiped the tears from his eyes. He told Richie that he loved him and it didn't matter to him what he was. No matter what he would be proud of Richie for just being a great grandson. However, he did make Richie promise that he would tell his parents soon. There was no reason for him to hide who he truly was. He thanked his grandfather and gave him a hug. He told him he loved him too and said goodbye.

The next morning, the Belmont home got a call from the hospital telling them that Richie's grandfather had passed away in the night. Though it had been expected, Richie was still in shock. The only family member that Richie felt had understood him had died. Who could he talk to now?

* * *

It had now been a few months since his grandfather's death and Richie had been at home. He had been too depressed to leave on another journey. Instead he was at home on a sort of "vacation" as he put it. Richie only wanted to be alone with his pokemon but then he realized that made his parents worry about him. So to make himself have some form of human contact, he began to hang out with his childhood friend named Clara. Every since Richie knew her, she had been in love with him. Now that they were spending time together, Clara thought that they were a couple now. Of course Richie didn't feel the same way. Though he believed Clara was a nice girl, he hated hanging out with her. She didn't know anything about pokemon and only wanted to go shopping all the time. Also there were many times were she would come to the house unannounced and Richie wasn't in the mood to see her. Today had been no exception. Richie had been up in his room reading a book with Sparky by his side sleeping when Clara barged in on him. 

"Oh Richie...?" she said as she opened the door to his room.

"Huh??" he said as he looked up. "Oh hi Clara."

"Is that any greeting for your girlfriend?" she said as she leaped on his bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. This also woke up Sparky.

"Come on... stop it." he said as he gently pushed her away.

"Oh you're so cruel!!" she pouted. "Why can't you just drop the attitude? Why are you always like this?"

"I don't know... I'm just not in the mood right now..."

"You're never in the mood..."

"Piiikaaa..." yawned the awakened Sparky.

"Oh hey Sparky." Richie said happily. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Pikachu!" said the happy pikachu.

"I swear!" Clara yelled. "You treat that pikachu better than you treat me!"

Just then the phone rang.

"Oh! Hold on, I need to get that." Richie said as he got up from his bed and darted to the phone. He wasn't expecting anyone; he just wanted to get away from Clara. She and Sparky then exited the room after him. He then answered the phone. "Hello?... Excuse me?... Whatever, get a life why don't cha?" He then slammed the phone back on the hook.

"What was that all about?" asked Clara.

"Pika pika?" asked Sparky.

"Just someone with a lame prank phone call."

"Typical. How juvenile! Don't these poor children have anything better to do?"

"You just can't assume that they're poor. They could be other rich kids doing it."

"Please… We wouldn't waste our time with such petty pranks."

"Um… okay. Why don't we go down stairs and I'll get us something to drink?"

"Now you're speaking my language!" she said as she locked arms with Richie's. Richie then sighed a little.

"Pikachu!" said Sparky.

Once down stairs, Richie got out the drinks for Clara, Sparky, and himself. Sparky jumped up on the table to have his drink which freaked Clara out a little.

"Richie! You know what your mother thinks about Sparky being up on the table!!"

"Well she's not here right now. Besides, Sparky had a bath today didn't ya Sparky?"

"Pika pika!!"

"It's still gross..." she said sounding rather annoyed as she took a sip of her drink. Then she began to think about the prank caller. It made her think of another time when she answered one of them. "Now that I think about it, there was another time were someone prank phone called your house."

"Really? When was this?"

"About a month ago."

"Wait a minute. This was in my house? And you answered the phone? Where was I?"

"I don't know. Probably playing with your pokemon. You weren't inside the house. The phone rang so I answered it.

"Ugh… Yeah, go on…"

"The caller apparently wasn't smart enough to turn off his camera so I saw what he looked like. He was a boy who was about the same age as you. Strangely enough, he claimed he wanted to speak to you."

"What…?"

"I told him I would take a message for you, but then he laughed at me and said he had the wrong number and hung up."

"Hmm... That is pretty strange."

"I should have known it was a joke after he gave that pathetic excuse for a fake name. I don't remember the first name but the last name was truly ridiculous. Now what was it now... um... Oh yes! Ketchum!"

As soon as the name hit his ears Richie spit out his drink all over the place.

"Richie! What the..."

"ASH!!! Ash Ketchum!?"

"Yes Ash. That was his first name... Wait how do you..."

"You said he called over a month ago? And you waited NOW to tell me?"

"Well I didn't think it mattered! I thought it was a joke!"

"What exactly did you say to him before he hung up?"

"Well I said I'd leave a message for you... That's it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! What's so special about this Ketchum boy anyway? You never talked about him!"

"Yes I have! You just hated listening about my pokemon journeys that you probably weren't paying attention!!"

Clara then gave him a look as if she was about to cry. She put her hands over her eyes and began to sob. This made Richie feel really bad.

"Pikachu..." Sparky said looking sad as well.

"Look Clara... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"You're always treating me this way..." she said as had her head buried in the arms on the table. "You're never nice to me anymore and you treat me as if I'm in the way..."

"Look it's not you... It's me... I'm just, I guess I'm not over my grandpa being gone and... I guess I've might have taken it out on you a little... I'm sorry. I know it was wrong and I'll try not to do it anymore." he said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"You... you really mean that?" she asked as she lifted her head up. Richie nodded in agreement. "I always knew you were the sweetest." she said as she trapped Richie in a hug.

But now Richie had another problem on his hands. Why did Ash want to contact him? Did it have something to do with that night? The night where they exchanged their affection for one another. And why didn't Ash ever try to call back. As soon as Clara left, he would find out everything.

* * *

well whad'cha think? Be on the look out for 11. it should be up soon! 


	11. He Now Knows

Well this is chapter 11. It's time for Ash and Richie to speak to one another! squee

i apologize for those of you who don't like Orangeshipping but there is some at the begining.

This chapter also features the song from the Jirachi movie "Chiisaki Mono" the orginal not the butchured english version

enjoy!**

* * *

**

**He Now Knows**

Tracey and Misty had just finished doing all the chores that Professor Oak had instructed while he was away at another conference. This involved cleaning the lab from top to bottom and taking care of all the pokemon on the ranch. The two were exhausted from the work and collapsed on the sofa in the living room.

"...We're finally done..." sighed Misty.

"Yeah... Who knew that the basement would be THAT dirty..." said Tracey while breathing a little heavily.

"And we did it all before Professor Oak got back..." Misty said as she sat up.

"You know...the professor won't be back till midnight..." Tracey said with a naughty smile. "Until then, we have the whole mansion to ourselves." he said as he put his hand on Misty's thigh.

"You mean... right now..." she said as her face turned red.

"I don't see why not..."

"But we're all dirty and sweaty."

"Well… I don't know about you but I kinda like it that way…" he said while putting his arms around Misty. That caused her to giggle uncontrollably.

"Ah ha ha ha! Tracey, stop it!" she giggled. But she didn't really try to fight him off. She really wanted some affection at the moment so she joined in too and locked lips with Tracey. But their little make out session was interrupted when the phone rang.

"Oop!" said Tracey as he pulled out of the kiss. "That might me the professor!"

"Uh-oh!" said Misty trying to fix up her hair.

After Tracey brushed himself off a bit, he ran to answer it.

"He...Hello?" he said trying to clear his throat. When the picture came up on the video phone it revealed that the caller wasn't Professor Oak, but Richie.

"Uh... Hi Tracey..." he nervously said.

"Richie?!" he said back, his voice sounding like it was in disbelief. When Misty heard Tracey say that from the other room, she came running.

"Yeah... it's me."

"Umm... hi!" Tracey managed to spit out. "How are you?"

"Okay I guess."

Misty waited outside the room for a while and peered inside, giving a cold stare to Richie.

"So... uh... what's up?"

"I called to see if maybe you knew what city in the Aspen Region Ash is in."

"Well… he's not there anymore. He's at home."

"Really? What happened?"

"Uh... well... uh" Tracey stuttered out. But before he got to say anything else Misty came barging in the room looking extremely angry.

"It's because of what you did!" she yelled.

"Misty...?" said Richie sounding extremely surprised.

"So why do you want to talk to Ash now you two timing jerk!! Did your girlfriend leave you already!"

"Girlfriend!" he said sounding scared.

"Don't play dumb! You know what I'm talking about!!"

It made sense to Richie now. Clara must have told Ash that she was his girlfriend and that must upset him. That's why Ash quickly hung up the phone and never called back. He never realized that Ash would have felt that passionately about him.

"Look! I can explain!"

"What exactly is there to explain!?"

"Misty!! Stop it!" Tracey yelled. "We're not getting anywhere like this. We have to do what's best for Ash." Tracey then turned his attention back to Richie. Misty just looked away with her arms crossed. "Look Richie... I'm just going to tell Ash that you called here and then he'll call you back. Hopefully. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be calling their house right now. Is that okay?"

"I guess so... Tell me something, did he leave the Aspen league because of the 'girlfriend' thing?"

"No that's not the reason. It's something else."

"Then what?"

"That's something he should tell you. Just know that it's REALLY important so don't give up on him so easily."

"Alright... Thank you..."

"It's nothing... really... Not to sound insulting... but it's not you I'm doing this for."

"None taken..."

The two hung up the phone with each other. Tracey then looked at Misty who was still fuming.

"Why did you do that?" he asked. Misty didn't respond. "I know you're angry with him. I am too. But that's no reason to lash out at him. Ash wouldn't want that."

"I know I know!" she finally spoke. "But the memory of the look on Ash's face that night just keeps replaying in my head. I've never seen him look so upset..."

"I know... That's probably something I never want to see again. But Ash needs to be the one to take care of this. Not us." he said as he hugged his visibly upset girlfriend.

"You're right... I'm sorry..."

Back at Richie's house, he was in a panic. Obviously Ash must have told everyone what happened between the two of them that night before they parted ways. That would explain why Misty was so angry. But he and Ash promised each other that they would never tell anyone. What made him break this promise? Did Ash really love him that much.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Ketchum home, Ash was just getting some rest like his doctor directed him to do. He was on his bed lying on his back with Pikachu asleep next to him. Ash had his hand on his tummy and he could feel Brooke moving around inside him. To help get her to sleep, he decided to sing a lullaby for her. He then remembered the lullaby that May sang to Max and Jirachi that one night. He took a moment to recall how it went and then began to sing. 

"_Shizuka ni tada mitsumeteta_

_Chiisaki mono nemuru kao_

_Miken ni shiwa sukoshi dake yoseteru_

_Kowai yume nara me o samashite_

_Mizu ga kowakute shiri gomi shiteta_

_Ano natsu ga yomigaeru yo_

_Senaka osarete wa yatto oyogeta_

_Maru de kinou mitai desu_

_Koe ga kikoeru_

_Yukubeki michi yubi sashiteiru_

_Sara sara nagaru kaze no naka de hitori_

_Watashi utatteimasu…"_

Ash had trialed off at the end as he slightly drifted off to sleep. But he didn't stay there for long as his mother came into the room.

"Ash? Are you awake?" she said quietly.

"Hmm… Did you say something Mom?" he asked.

"Well yes. You see, I just got a call from Tracey. He said that Richie had called."

"...What...?" Ash said almost in disbelief. "W...what did he say?"

"He just said that he wanted to talk to you and that he wanted you to call him back. He must have called Professor Oak because he doesn't know our phone number."

Ash just sat there in utter shock. Why did Richie call him now? At this point Ash didn't know what to do. He wasn't ready to talk to Richie yet but he knew he should. He had to tell him that they have a baby on the way.

"Ash...?" his mother asked after he remained quiet.

"I'm going to give him a call. I'm not ready yet but I think it's finally time I told him."

His mother nodded in agreement and watched her son go down the stairs into his father's old study and make the call like he did before. Ash saw that Richie's phone number still remained on the desk were he left it over a month ago. He then took in a deep breath and began to dial the numbers. This time he prayed that Richie's girlfriend wouldn't answer it this time. But luckily for him, Richie would be waiting for him on the other line. The phone only rang once before Richie picked it up.

"H...hello?" said Richie.

Ash for a moment couldn't believe he was hearing the sound of Richie's voice. After Richie's picture appeared on the video phone he was nearly struck speechless.

"Uh... I... um... Hi..." he managed to mutter out.

"Ash hey! How are you?" he said trying to make conversation. But Ash didn't say anything back. "I am so so so sorry! If I knew you called I would have called back sooner."

"Well... these things happen..."

"...Um... so..." Richie said as he was trying to come up with something to say. "Why'd you call last time?"

"What? I can't just call to say hello to a friend after a long while?"

"N...no! I... I mean of course you can! I didn't mean it like that."

Richie was losing his composer right before Ash's eyes.

"So... how's your girlfriend doing?"

"Um... about that. See there's no..."

"But you ARE dating her aren't you!? Didn't that night we had sex mean ANYTHING to you!"

"Of course it did... I just thought..."

"Thought what!? Let me tell you something. I don't know about you but that was my first time. That night was very special to me... And I really thought you felt that way about it too..." he said as he began to cry.

"It was special to me Ash... It's just that.."

"There's no point in me holding this in any longer. The reason I wanted to call you was to tell you that I'm pregnant with your baby."

Richie's jaw dropped to the floor at the moment. Did he just hear correctly?

"W...w...what...? But... you're a guy.."

"Don't believe me? Have a look for yourself."

Ash stood up from the chair he was sitting on in order to show Richie just how pregnant he was. After that Richie just stared in awe. He didn't know what to say now. Just then a million thoughts ran through his head. How could he raise a child? What would his family say when they found out not only did he get someone pregnant but it was another guy. What would happen to his life now? Richie then put his hand over his eyes and looked down at the desk in silence. Ash sat back in his chair looking at the now silent Richie.

"Well... don't just sit there. Say something..." said Ash

"What exactly do you want me to say?" Richie said sounding really frightened.

"I don't know..."

"How long have you been trying to get in touch with me?"

"Since the day I found out. Over four months ago..."

"Oh my god..." he said as he put his head down on the desk. He remained like that for a minute.

"Richie... Are you okay...?" Ash asked sounding concerned.

"I'm dumbfounded... I don't know what to say..."

"What does 'dumbfounded' mean?" he said with a confused look.

"Oh Ash..." he giggled slightly. Then he lifted his head off the desk. "It's that kind of innocent behavior that made me fall in love with you."

"Well if you loved me so much, why did you date her...?"

"Well we aren't technically dating. She just likes to think that. You see, she's a childhood friend of mine who has been crushing on me since as long as I can remember."

"Did you ever... kiss...?"

"No... I'd never let her... It's not who I am..."

"Then who are you...?"

"I'm not even sure about that..."

"Do your parents know that you're gay?"

"No... They have no idea. How'd your mom take it when you told her?"

"Pregnancy or being gay?"

"Both."

"Well she was really in shock over the pregnancy. Though I think everyone was. Even me. But she wasn't even fazed by me coming out. She was completely cool with it."

"Lucky you... So... what's up with the baby?"

"Oh well she's doing great!"

"She?"

"Yeah, the other day I found out it was a girl."

"Any names yet?"

"Well I was trying to wait up for you on that, but I really wanted to name her Brooke."

"Brooke huh? I like it. Something strong and original."

"I actually based her name off of Brock's. He's been taking really good care of me during my pregnancy."

"Ohh. At least someone was there to help you while my sorry butt was doing nothing."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know... One thing that I still don't understand is why you left the Battle Frontier."

"Well you see I got a call from my mom saying that my grandpa was sick and in the hospital. She didn't know how long he had left to live so I came home right away."

"Oh… Is he alright? What happened to him?"

Richie stood silent and stared at the desk again.

"Oh god… Richie… I'm so sorry… I had no idea."

"It's alright… I'm still having trouble getting over the loss you know? He was the only one I could really talk to. He was the reason I wanted to become a pokemon master. So I could be a great trainer like him"

"Wow… Sounds like you were really close."

"Yeah. Also, before he died, I came out to him. And I was so relieved that he didn't look at me any different then before. But he made me promise that I would tell my parents."

"And you haven't told them yet?"

"No… I've been too scared to."

"Why? You don't think they'll accept you?"

"Well… not sure what my mom would think but my dad definitely wouldn't."

"Why do you say that?"

"He's a very religious person, and to be homosexual is a death sentence. I basically grew up with him telling me that all gays are going to hell."

"Do you believe that?"

"No… well… I can't really say…"

"Well my mom came from a religious family too. Basically they believed that homosexuality and having sex before marriage were unforgivable sins. If what they think is true then I guess I'm in trouble. My 'grandma' kicked out my mom when she got pregnant with me because she was not married. But this is what my mother always taught me. You can't spend your whole life worrying about what might happen once you're gone. She says as long as you are a good person and live your life with truth and honesty then nothing else should matter."

"Wow. That's a really good saying."

"So do you feel a little better?"

"I guess so… yeah."

Ash and Richie talked for a little while longer. Most of the time was spent on Ash explaining to Richie how he found out he was pregnant and what's been happening so far. Before they said goodbye, Ash made Richie promise him that he would tell his parents everything before he came over to Pallet Town to see him. Would Richie keep this promise?

* * *

r&r please 


	12. Meeting Once More

It's chapter 12 time. It's the moment you've all been waiting for. Ash and Richie see eachother again in person!

Also be sure to read my other fan fic **_There For You_**. It has nothing to do with this one but has a lot of Orangeshipping goodness. And Mpreg!

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Meeting Once More**

It had been a few weeks since Ash had spoken to Richie. He was supposed to call back after he had told his parents the situation so that they can arrange a time to meet. Though he really wanted to call Richie back, Ash didn't worry too much. Richie had told him that his dad was out of town on a business trip and his mom was out making another movie. He wanted to wait until the two of them returned home to tell them. Ash agreed to Richie's wishes and would wait.

Meanwhile, Ash had now reached his seventh month of pregnancy. Now with only two months to go, Ash was beginning to realize he was going to become a mother real soon. And with that awaited the painful childbirth.

* * *

Earlier today, Ash had gone with Brock up to Professor Oak's lab so that he could see all his pokémon and tell them how the baby was doing. It had been a cold day from the start but now it was snowing slightly. That's when Ash and Brock decided to head back home so that Ash wouldn't risk getting sick. Not only that but he was getting an ache in his back. 

"Hey mom! Were home!" Ash called from the front door.

"Oh good, you're back." said his mother. "So how was your visit? Are all of your Pokémon doing well?"

"Yeah, they're all doing great!"

"All of them were healthy and happy." said Brock.

"Pika pika." said Pikachu.

"That's wonderful." she smiled.

"Ohh…" Ash moaned as the small ache in his back became more severe.

"Sweetie, are you alright?"

"Yeah… It's just… it's been a while since I moved around this much. I guess my body's not quite use to it."

"Pika-pi…"

"Here, why don't you sit down for a while?" said Brock as he led Ash over to the couch.

"Hm… alright."

"I'll get you both some hot chocolate so you can warm up." said Delia.

"Thank you Mom."

Within a minute, she returned with a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate. She saw Ash had already slumped down on the couch and Brock sitting next to him. Pikachu was sitting on the arm of the couch next to Ash. Delia then placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the two boys.

"You should probably let it sit for a little bit. It's still very hot."

"Alright." the boys said in unison.

Delia returned to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

"I can't wait till Brooke actually gets to see all my Pokémon." said Ash. "I hope she loves them just as much as Richie and I do. Who knows? Maybe she'll wanna be a Pokémon trainer too!"

"That is a possibility." Brock said.

"Pika!"

"Wow… that'd be great. Of course whatever she decides to be is fine with me." he said while petting Pikachu's head.

Ash wanted a sip of the hot chocolate his mother made but couldn't get up after he slumped into the couch.

"Here, let me help you." Brock said after he saw Ash struggling to get up.

With one arm around Ash's back and one hand holding his arm, Brock got him into a sitting position. All of a sudden, Ash started to blush.

_"It's happening again…"_ he thought to himself as he put his hand on his cheek.

"Are you okay?" asked Brock.

"Pika?"

"Uh—Oh yeah! Ha ha! I'm fine!" He then picked up the mug of hot chocolate and took a sip_. "What's the matter with me?"_ he thought again._ "I can't be in love with Brock, can I? He's my best friend. Besides, I love Richie… Why am I having these feelings?"_

Just then there was a knock at the door. This surprised Ash and Brock because they knew Dr. Carter wasn't supposed to visit until next week.

"Who is that?" Ash asked.

"I don't know." Brock said. "You better cover yourself incase they need to come in."

"Good idea." he said as he grabbed a nearby quilt and covered himself to hide his belly.

Brock walked up to the door and peered outside the window. He saw a boy standing out there. But he really couldn't see his face because he had hooded jacket on with a scarf covering his mouth. Brock thought it might be someone who was lost so he answered the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi Brock!" said the boy.

"Huh? You know me?"

"It's me." he said as he started to remove the scarf and hood. "Richie."

"Wha…what? What are you doing here?"

"Richie…" Ash said as his heart jumped into his throat.

"Well… it's kind of a long and funny story." he smiled.

Meanwhile, Ash was struggling to hide under the covers. He wasn't prepared for Richie to just show up like this.

"Pi… Pika-pi?" said Pikachu in a curious tone.

"Get under here!" he whispered. "Don't let him see you!"

"Pika!" he squeaked as he was dragged under the covers.

"Well… why don't you come in." he heard Brock say.

"Thank you."

"Ash is right over… here?" When he looked back at the couch, he saw Ash has thrown the quilt completely over himself. "Ash…? What are you doing?"

"Ash?" he heard him say while being muffled by the blanket. "There's no one here by that name. Sorry."

"Pikachu?" said the muffled voice of Pikachu.

"Ash. Richie came all this way to see you."

"Hmm…" he replied nervously. Richie began to giggle quietly as he walked up to the couch.

"Come on Ash…" he said gently. "It's only me."

"I thought you said you were going to call first…"

"I know… I'm sorry about that. But please don't hide. I really need to see you. Please…"

Ash then slowly pulled the quilt down from over his head. His face was red with embarrassment. Pikachu's head also popped out from under the quilt.

"Hi…" he said sheepishly to Richie. But he still refused to look him in the eye.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu greeted Richie.

"Haha. Hi Pikachu." Richie said as stroked Pikachu's back. Richie noticed that Ash was trying not to look at him. "What's the matter Ash?"

"I just didn't expect to see you so soon. This is so unexpected… and I'm kind of embarrassed…"

"Why are you embarrassed?" Brock asked.

"Because… I was too nervous to see you in person again."

"Ash… There's no need to be embarrassed about that. I was nervous to see you again too. But everything's okay now. So… can you look at me? Please?"

It took a while but Ash finally got up the courage to look into his eyes. The same pretty blue eyes he fell in love with. After seeing Richie's smile, he couldn't help but smile too.

"Ash. Brock. Dinner will…" said Ash's mother as she entered the living room but stopped when she saw Richie there as well. "Richie?"

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum."

"H-Hello!" she said as she shook of the shock. "This is certainly a surprise. Ash told me you would call before you left Frodomar."

"Yeah… Something happened and my parents weren't able to come home yet. So I decided to come here. I apologize. I really should have called first."

"Oh that's quite alright." she said in a kind voice. However, she wasn't 100 percent thrilled to see Richie again. She knew that he meant well, but she was still trying to get over the fact that he was the one who got her baby pregnant. "Can I get you something? I just made hot chocolate not too long ago. Would you like some?"

"Sure! Thank you, ma'am."

"I guess I'll have to make a little more to eat for dinner tonight."

"I'll help you out Mrs. Ketchum." said Brock as he got up and followed her to the kitchen. Though he also thought this would be a good time for Ash and Richie to talk to each other alone.

A little bit later, Delia had sent Mr. Mime to the living room to give the hot chocolate to Richie.

"Oh, thank you." Richie said.

"Mime mime!" said the Pokémon as he walked off and returned to the kitchen.

"So… um… where's Sparky?" asked Ash trying to make conversation.

"Oh! I almost forgot." he said as he pulled a pokéball from his belt. "I returned Sparky to his pokéball because of the weather. Sparky! Come on out!" he said as he opened the pokéball. And out came Richie's pikachu, Sparky.

"Pika-pikaa!" he said

"Pikachu!" said Ash's pikachu.

"Pika!"

Richie and Ash both smiled as their two pokémon started to have a conversation. Unlike them, they seemed to have no problem talking to each other. Richie turned to Ash once more.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good I guess. A little sore, but otherwise okay."

"And the baby?"

"Oh she's doing great! Dr. Carter says that everything looks pretty good."

"Dr. Carter?"

"Yeah. He's my obsti… uh… obsta…"

"Obstetrician?"

"Yeah that's it. I actually met his grandpa first back when I was in the Aspen Region. He was the one who told me I was pregnant. Of course I didn't believe him at first. But then he told me about Dr. Carter. You see, he was pregnant at one time too. But sadly, he lost his baby… But now he's dedicated his life to helping males that were in situation so no one will have to go through what he did."

"He sounds like a nice person."

"Yeah, he is. Sometimes when I felt depressed, he always made me feel better---hm!" he suddenly gasped.

"Is something wrong?" Richie asked.

"Brooke's kicking…" he said warmly.

"Really…?"

"Yeah… I guess I haven't really introduced her to you yet. Come here." he said as he held Richie's hand. He then put it on his stomach.

"Oh… I can feel her…" he said in a quiet voice.

"Brooke, I'd like you to meet your daddy…"

Richie became speechless after he said that. It just occurred to him once more that it was his daughter in there. He indeed was going to be a father soon. When Ash looked up at him, he noticed Richie's eyes seemed in a daze.

"What's wrong?"

"Hm!? Oh nothing, I was just spacing out." He turned his attention once more to his unborn daughter. "Um… hello… Brooke. It's nice to meet you… Sorry I haven't been around, but everything's gonna be different now. I promise."

Ash then smiled.

"What did your parents say when you told them?" he asked.

"Umm… well… here's the funny part. I actually haven't told them anything yet…"

"You what!? I thought that we agreed th...!"

"Shh! Not so loud." he whispered. "I know I was supposed to but they weren't going to be back for a while and I just couldn't wait."

"Have you ever heard of a phone?" asked Ash sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, how's that gonna sound over the phone? 'Oh hi Dad! Yeah guess what? I had sex with a guy and got him pregnant.'"

"It wouldn't sound any more normal if you told him in person."

"Ash… please… Just give me some time. I'll tell them soon. I promise. Just can we please not tell anyone about this? Please?"

"Okay…" he reluctantly agreed. "But you better tell them before Brooke gets here."

"Don't worry, I'll tell them way before then."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

"Okay boys, dinners ready!" called Delia from the kitchen.

"Okay Mom!" Ash said back. "Can you help me up?"

"Oh sure!"

Richie grabbed on to Ash's hands and pulled him up of the couch. Richie's eyes widen when he realized just how big Ash was. The two boys walked to the kitchen and took their seats at the table.

"Wow that smells great Mrs. Ketchum." said Richie

"Why thank you Richie." she said as she put a plate of food in front of him. She then put one in front of Ash.

"Thank you Mom." he told her.

"You're welcome sweetheart."

Brock then brought two bowls of pokéchow to the table for Pikachu and Sparky.

"Here ya go guys. Eat up."

"Pika!" said Pikachu

"Pikaa!" said Sparky.

Once everyone was seated, they began to eat their dinner. As they ate, there was little conversation between anyone. Delia continued to just stare at Richie without him noticing. However, Ash noticed that she was. This made him nervous.

"So Richie…" Delia had begun to ask. "What have you've been doing these past few months?"

"Um… nothing much. I decided to stay home and study pokémon there."

"Oh that's nice. And how are your parents?"

Richie then became nervous.

"Uh there doing okay. Dad's still out on a business trip and my mom's busy making a new movie."

"Movie?"

"Yeah, she's an actress."

"Really? What's your mother's name?"

"Penelope Belmont. But you would probably know her as Penelope Holmes."

"Your mom is Penelope Holmes!?" Brock butted in.

"Heh… yeah…"

"She's my FAVORITE actress! I've seen all of her movies! My favorites being 'Pokémon Ranch Secrets' and 'The Madam Diamond Chronicles'."

"I'll be sure to tell her…" he laughed

"If it's not too much trouble, could you get me her autograph?"

"Sure…"

Ash was quietly giggling. It was nice to see Brock go gaga over women again. It reminded him of the good old days.

"It must be pretty exciting having a mother who's in the movie business." said Delia.

"Yeah, I guess… Just wish she was around more."

The tone of Richie's voice seemed sad. This made Delia have a little more compassion for him. Not having his mother around must have been hard for him.

"What does your father do?" she asked.

"He runs a pokéball manufacturing company. His father patented the newer model pokéball. When he died, my father inherited all the money from it."

_"Wow. Richie must be a millionaire or something."_ Ash thought to himself.

"Now he wants me to take over the business once he's not able to work anymore. But that's not what I want to do. I just want to study all of the legendary pokémon and be able to see all of them and perhaps write a book about it. However, my dad doesn't like the idea of it and told me it's just going to be a waste of time."

_"That poor boy…" _Delia thought. _"He has all the money in the world and yet he doesn't have the one thing he really wants. Support from his parents."_

"So what did your parents say when you told them about Ash and the baby?" she asked.

Richie then dropped the spoon he was using to eat with. Ash then looked up in worry.

"Hey look Mom!" Ash said as he held up his empty plate, trying to change the subject. "I ate all my vegetables. May I have some dissert now?"

"In a minute honey. I'm asking Richie a question."

_"Sorry Richie, I tried."_ he thought.

"Well um…" Richie mumbled out. "They… were a little confused at first but…"

Ash was in shock. Richie was lying to his mother.

"…I think there pretty okay with it now."

"Oh okay."

* * *

After dinner, Richie helped Delia clean of the kitchen table while Brock rinsed the pots which the food was cooked in. Ash however was still a bit ticked off that Richie lied to his mother like that. He would tell her the truth himself but he made a promise that he wouldn't. He told his mom and the others that he was feeling tired and went up to his room. After Richie was done helping them, he went up to Ash's room to see what he was doing. He saw that Ash's bedroom door was open a little bit and the light was turned on. He looked in and saw Ash was sitting on the edge of his bed looking really annoyed. 

"Um… Ash?"

"What?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Why did you lie to my mom?"

"Well I… I didn't know what else to say. The question was kind of sprung on me."

"You should have just told her the truth. That you didn't get to tell your parents."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was just surprised."

"Seeing you lie like that makes me wonder if anything you tell me is the truth."

"No, I mean, I would never lie to you."

"Just like you promised me you tell your parents about our situation before you came here? You lied to me about that."

"Well yes but…"

"How many things are you hiding from me!? For all I know you could really be in a relationship with that girl!"

"No! I'm not, honest!"

"How can I believe that Richie…?" Ash then started to cry. "How can I believe you when I saw you lie twice?"

"Please don't cry." Richie went and sat next to Ash. "I swear to you that my parents are the only thing I've lied about."

"Why couldn't you just tell your parents? Then we wouldn't have this problem."

"I explained to you about that. I told you about my father. You wouldn't understand having parents who can't figure out who you are. They don't understand me at all. Especially my father. All he wants me to do is what he does. And when I tell them about you and me, it's not going to be a pretty situation."

"Just say that you're scared of what your father will do. I know that's the real reason why you won't tell your parents. Just explain that to my mom and I bet she'll understand. I may not know what it's like to have a parent that doesn't understand you but she does. Just tell her that you're scared."

"I don't know… It's kind of embarrassing…"

"She's not going to care. Don't worry about it. Please Richie… The truth needs to come out."

Ash leaned for Richie and hugged him lovingly. Richie then hugged him back.

"Okay… I will…"

* * *

R&R Please ready my other fan fiction! 


	13. Rekindling The Flame

The unluck 13. Maybe not.

Finally, major Leagueshipping is about to happen! Also some Leaguepikashipping...? Read on to find out what that means.

**

* * *

**

Rekindling the Flame

Richie took Ash's advice and decided to talk to his mother about the situation with his parents. Ash waited patiently outside of his mother's bedroom as she talked to the father of his baby. Inside, Richie explained to her about how his father felt about gays and teen pregnancy.

"So you see… that's why I haven't told them." he explained. "I'm sorry that I lied to you ma'am. I promise I won't do it again."

Delia remained quiet for a moment and then smiled. She then gave Richie a hug.

"It's alright…" she said softly. "I completely understand what you're going through. It must be really hard not being able to talk to your parents about these kinds of things, isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am. But I never really thought of it before. I always had my grandpa to talk to. But now that he's gone… I feel that I have no one."

"That must be so hard… Were you very close to your grandfather?"

"Yes. He was the only one who believed in my dream to become a pokémon master. The rest of my family thought I was crazy…"

"Listen Richie, I know it's hard but you need to try and explain to your parents how they make you feel. Maybe there's room for them to change there ways."

"That's easier said than done…"

"Well it's worth a try. Also you need to explain that you're going to be a dad soon. Not today but maybe later on when you feel comfortable. Promise me you will."

"Alright."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please be sure to be there for Ash. He really loves you and needs you now more than ever. You may not know this but you have much more of an influence on him than I do during this stage in his life. I know that you're a very caring young man and you would never want to see him hurt just as much as I wouldn't. So please, take good care of him… Can you promise me that?"

"Yes ma'am." Richie then held her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "I promise with all my heart that I'll do anything for Ash and dedicate my life to him and Brooke. You have my word."

"Thank you." she said with a smile.

Right outside, Ash was leaning against the wall about 4 feet from the door waiting to see what happened. When the door open he saw Richie emerge with his mother right behind with a hand on his shoulder.

"So is everything okay?" Ash asked.

"Everything's fine sweetie." his mother told him. "Don't you worry about a thing. If Richie wants to, he'll explain what happened. Well, I need to get back down stairs and straighten up the kitchen. You to behave now, alright?"

"Uh… alright." he blushed

With that Delia giggled slightly and happily walked down stairs.

"Okay… What was that all about? How'd it go?"

"Everything went great." Richie told him. "She really understood me."

"I knew it would. Looks like I was right!" he smirked.

"Yes, yes you were." Richie laughed. He then gave Ash a kiss on the cheek. This caused him to turn bright red.

"Whoa… Both of you are in a real good mood. Guess it went really well."

"Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"I just need to let you know… that I'll be here to take care of you." He then held Ash's hand. "From now on I'll be with you through thick and thin."

"Richie…"

"I love you Ash Ketchum."

Ash was nearly stuck speechless. This was like a dream come true for him. His heart was now beating out of his chest.

"I love you too…" he quietly said.

"Do you think… maybe when we get older… that I can ask you for your hand in marriage?"

"M-m-marriage…? M-me?"

Richie nodded his head.

"Will you accept?"

"Y-yes! Yes! Of course I will!" Ash now had begun to cry from joy.

Richie then wiped the tears from Ash's eyes with his thumb. The two gazed at each other for a moment and before they knew it, they were kissing.

"Mm… Hold on." Ash said as he pulled out of the kiss. "Not here, let's go back to my room."

"Okay." Richie smiled.

The two boys walked hand in hand towards the other side of the hallway were Ash's room was. As the two of them walked in they saw that Pikachu and Sparky were in there as well. However, they were doing more than just sitting around.

"P-Pikachu?" said Ash in surprise.

"Sparky?" said Richie.

The two of them shot out of the room as fast as they could and back outside.

"W-were they doing what I think they were doing?" Ash asked Richie.

"I-I think so…"

"Sh-should we um… stop them?"

"I don't know what we should do. Maybe we should just wait till they're finished or something."

Just then Brock came up the stairs and saw Ash and Richie standing against the wall with red faces.

"What's with you two?" he asked.

"It's Pikachu and Sparky…" Richie told him.

"What? Are they sick?"

"Not exactly…" Ash said while nervously laughing.

"Then what's the problem?"

"We think that they're… um… gee… what's the word I'm looking for… playing half-way piggy back…?"

"Huh?"

"He means they're having sex." Richie said.

"What? Really?"

"Have a look for yourself." Ash told him.

Brock crept quietly and looked inside quickly.

"Oh yeah. They're having sex alright."

"Isn't your pikachu a male too?" Richie asked Ash.

"Yeah. As far as I know."

"Looks your pikachu are gay." Brock told them. "I heard of pokémon taking after their trainers but this is a whole new level."

"You're right." Ash said. "They are just like us."

"Can pokémon really be gay?" asked Richie.

"Well I have heard of it before. Some pokémon prefer to be with their own gender rather than the opposite, even if it means that they will never breed."

"It really is true love…" said Ash. "And if pokémon even have these kinds of feelings then that means it can't be wrong."

_"If only my father could understand that…"_ Richie thought.

* * *

At bed time, Delia told Richie that he could share the guest bedroom with Brock. She really didn't want him and Ash to share a room just yet. Richie understood and went to unroll his sleeping bag on the guest bedroom floor. There wasn't much conversation going on between him and Brock that whole night. However that didn't stop Richie from trying to make conversation. In the middle of the night he was having trouble sleeping. He decided to see if Brock was awake as well after he heard him roll over in his bed.

"Hey Brock…?" he said quietly. "Are you awake…?"

"…I am now…"

"Oops… sorry."

"No… it wasn't you. I wasn't in that deep of a sleep anyway. Just have things on my mind is all."

"I'd like to thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there for Ash when I wasn't. He told me how well you took care of him the past few months."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I didn't do it for you. Ash is my friend and I will do anything for him."

"I'm aware of that." he said while staring at the ceiling.

"Tell me… What made you so interested in him?"

"Well we do have a lot in common. He's easy to talk to and probably one of the coolest people I've ever met."

"I see. Then why was there such a long separation between the two of you. I mean we're talking two years or so."

"We just had to do are own things. At the time, I put my pokémon training before my love life. And back then, I didn't even think that Ash had any interest in me more or less if he would even remember me."

"Ash isn't the type to ever forget a friend."

"Yeah, I know that now."

There was another long silence.

"Do you love him?" Brock asked Richie.

"What? Well… yeah. Why? Am I giving the impression that I don't?"

"Nope, just making sure. And you'd never do anything to intentionally hurt him, would you?"

"No of course not." Richie was becoming nervous as he now had a feeling that he was being interrogated by Brock.

"I have a lot of respect for you in the sense that Ash loves you and that you're the father of that baby." Brock then turned towards the wall. "But know this… If you ever do anything that will harm Ash or Brooke in anyway, then you'll have to answer to me."

"Wait. What are you trying to say? I would never do anything like that to them. You have my word."

"Well then you have nothing to worry about now do you? Good night…"

Richie lay there staring at the ceiling with a feeling of tremendous discomfort. It was made apparent that Brock wasn't too chummy with him at all. In fact he even seemed threatening towards him. Was this the same loving, caring, gentle guy that Ash told him about. Through the rest of the night, Richie got little sleep after this awkward conversation.

* * *

The next morning Brock got up early to make breakfast like he usually did. A while later, Ash and Delia woke up and came down to the kitchen. There they saw Pikachu and Sparky already enjoying there breakfast. However Ash noticed that Richie was absent.

"Hey Brock, where's Richie?"

"He's still sleeping. He told me he hadn't slept well last night and was still tired so I left him alone."

"I hope he isn't coming down with something." Delia said.

"I'm sure he's just fine Mrs. Ketchum." he said as he place two breakfast plates on the table.

"You guys go ahead and eat." Ash told them. "I'm going to see if he's alright."

"Come on Ash." said Brock. "You heard what Dr. Carter said. You should eat a well-balanced breakfast every morning."

"Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Inside the guest bedroom, Richie was indeed sound asleep. He finally grew tired by the break of dawn and passed out. All of a sudden, Richie was awoken by someone nudging their foot gently into his shoulder.

"Richie?" said a familiar voice.

"Uh… huh? Wha…?" he said in confusion as he turned over to see who was bugging him.

When he looked he saw Ash standing there. He then got up quickly.

"Oh Ash! It's just you." he laughed nervously.

"Uh… yep. Just me."

Richie then stood up, looked around the room, and then kissed Ash on the cheek.

"How are you?" he asked Ash.

"I'm fine. I was just wondering how you were."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Brock said you didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh… yeah…"

"Are you okay? You seem out-of-it."

"Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"How come you couldn't sleep?"

"Uh… I don't know. Just one of those nights I guess. Though I think I'll just sleep on the couch tonight."

"How come?"

"Uh… not used to sleeping on the floor. Maybe that's way I couldn't sleep, yeah."

Ash then took his hand and walked him over to Brock's bed were the two of them sat down.

"Did Brock say anything to you?"

"Um… well we talked a little but that was about it."

"Really? That's all?"

Richie then remembered the promise he made Ash to never keep secrets from him.

"No… that wasn't all."

"What happened?"

"Well… Let's just say that I don't think Brock fully trusts me."

"What makes you say that?"

"It became pretty clear after he threatened me."

"What? Threatened you?"

"But I'm sure he did it only because he cares about you."

"I don't care. He has no right to do that. I'm going to go talk to him."

"No no don't. Let's just let it go. I don't want to cause trouble."

"Well… alright. But if he continues to act that way towards you, let me know."

"Tell me, is he acting this way because of the whole 'Clara thing'?"

"Maybe, but I think it might because of something I did."

"What'd you do?"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"I think you do… cause otherwise you wouldn't of mentioned it."

"Well… the day I first called your house and found ou- uh thought you had a girl friend, I became very upset. I guess Brock and my mom and my other friends began to hold a grudge against you."

"How upset were you?"

"Well… let me show you."

The two walked out of the guest room and into the living room. There Ash pointed out to Richie a slight dent in the wall.

"I did that with my fist. That caused my knuckles to bleed."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you…"

"Shh…" he said while holding a finger to Richie's lips. "I know. That was my own ignorance. There was no reason for me to act like that and hurt myself. But you see that's why Brock is so worried. He doesn't ever want to see something like that happen again."

"Now… when I look at it, Brock is kind of being like an overprotective older brother."

"Yeah, he does seem that way, doesn't he?"

Ash held Richie's hand once more.

"Come on. Let's go have so breakfast. You haven't lived until you had one of Brock's breakfasts."

"Alright." he laughed.

* * *

A couple days later, it was time for yet another check up from Dr. Carter. However this would be a bit more special than the others. This would be the first time that Richie will see his daughter that's growing inside Ash. Upon Dr. Carter's arrival, Ash immediately introduced Richie to him.

"Oh so this is the famous Richie." he said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He extended a hand to Richie.

"It's very nice to meet you too." Richie said while shaking the doctor's hand.

"I bet you're excited. You're about to see your baby for the first time."

"Very excited, and nervous too."

"Don't worry." Ash said. "There's noting to worry about."

"Well, I don't want the two of you to wait any longer. Come."

"Okay." Ash and Richie said together.

The three then went into Ash's room where, like always, the examination would take place.

"So do you always have these checkups in Ash's room?" Richie asked.

"Yeah." Ash said as he took off his shirt and lied on his bed. "For obvious reasons I can't go to a hospital. So we've been doing it here, right in my room."

Dr. Carter set up his laptop computer and then spread the jelly on Ash's stomach. Richie pulled up a nearby chair and sat next to Ash. Ash then in turn grabbed on to Richie's hand. Dr. Carter then took the probe of the mini sonogram and moved it around Ash's stomach in circular motions.

"So Ash, have you been sticking to the diet plan I gave you?" asked Dr. Carter while watching the computer screen.

"Pretty much. I mean I have a treat here and there but most of the time I'm eating what you said."

"Very good… Oh! I think I see her."

Richie then looked away from Ash and at the computer screen. He gasped as he saw her as well.

"Oh my goodness." he said. "That's really her?"

"Yep. That's your daughter."

"She looks nearly developed."

"Well she's getting there. After all it is just a little under 2 months now." Dr. Carter then turned to Ash. "Would you like to see?"

"Yeah." he nodded.

He then turned down the screen of the laptop in order for Ash to see it.

"She looks a little bit bigger than before. But not that much. I just wish she wouldn't kick so hard sometimes."

"That's just a way for her to get exercise and work her leg muscles." He then turned to Richie. "Richie, do you want to hear her heartbeat?"

"Uh yeah, sure."

Dr. Carter turned up the volume on the laptop making the heartbeat audible.

"Wow it sure is fast."

"Very normal for an unborn child."

"This is so awesome. I can't believe that that's my child in there."

Ash smiled and gently squeezed Richie's hand.

Afterwards Ash got cleaned off and Dr. Carter packed up his supplies. He and Richie then gave the doctor something to eat and then saw him off. He said he would return again in two weeks.

"You were right Ash. He was very nice."

"I fully trust him to help us deliver a healthy baby." he said with both hands on his stomach.

Richie then kneeled down a bit and put his hand on Ash's belly.

"We can't wait until you get here Brooke." Richie said. "And we'll make sure that everything will be perfect once you do."

Richie pulled up Ash's shirt a little bit and kissed his stomach. Then he laid his head on it and wrapped his arms around Ash's midsection. In response, he held Richie closer to his body. Ash had never felt so happy in his life. He had the two people he loved most of all together with him. And he realized that things were to get better from now on.

* * *

review please


	14. A Small Thing

Sorry for not having an update in a while. Writer's block...

This chapter has the return of May and Max. It's really short and lame. sorry about that. But I promise that the next chapter will be a lot more interesting. As for why... well you'll see XD

the title for this chapter is relation to May's lullaby "Chiisaki Mono". it's an english translation of the title.**

* * *

**

A Small Thing

Three weeks later…

It has been nearly been three and a half months since their departure. Now May and Max are on their way to Pallet Town in order to see their friend Ash and be there for the birth of his baby. They were nearly a mile a way from his house when May became tired and collapsed on the ground.

"I can't do this anymore…" she whined.

"Come on May. It's not that far."

"Well maybe if you actually helped me carry some of the gifts than I wouldn't be so tired!"

"That's not my fault. I called heads so that means you have to carry them." he said while flipping the coin they used in their gamble in the air.

However Max slipped up and dropped the coin which rolled next to May. She picked it up off the ground and discovered that it was a two headed coin.

"You cheater!" she screamed.

"Hey come on. It's not that bad."

Without warning May lunged for Max and then began chasing him around in circles.

"Well I guess you're not tired anymore!" Max joked as he ran from his sister.

"I'm never tired when I need to pound you into the ground!"

After a while they both grew tired and collapsed to the ground next to the pile of gifts.

"Alright… alright…" said Max while trying to catch his breath. "I'll help you…"

"Hold on… Let's just rest for a little bit…"

After a ten minute snack break, the two were off once more. The made it to Ash's house an hour later. Once they were at the door step they knocked on the door which was then answered by Brock.

"Hey you two!" he said happily. "It's great to see you again."

"Hey Brock!" the two of them said.

Brock helped out with carrying the boxes they had and invited them in.

"So what do you have here?" he asked.

"Just some things with thought Ash might like." said May.

"Yeah. May thought of it at the last minute before we left."

"But we won't say what they are till Ash opens them."

"Well whatever it is I'm sure he'll love it. I'll go look for him. You guys just have a seat on the sofa."

"Thanks." they said together once again.

While sitting on the sofa, Richie happened to come into the living room. He had just come into the house through the kitchen door.

"Huh?... Richie…?" they said together yet again.

"Uh… hi." he said. "Haven't we met before?" Richie was a bit confused because he wasn't quite familiar with May and Max. After all he had only seen them for one night a while back.

What made things even more complicated is that Ash hadn't told May and Max that everything was alright with Richie. The last they heard he was a "two-timing jerk".

"What are you doing here?" Max asked in a hostile tone.

"Wha?" said a confused Richie.

"Yeah. Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?"

"What are you…? Oh I get it. Ash didn't tell you that I was over here. Listen, there was a huge misunderst…"

"Hey… what's going on here?" asked a voice.

May and Max turned around and saw Ash standing by the stair way along with Brock.

"Ash!" May said happily.

"Hi Ash!" said Max who was equally happy.

"May! Max! It's great to see you again!" he said as he hugged the two of them.

"Man… You're so huge." said Max. He was then met with a slap to the head by May. "Ow!"

"Max! That was uncalled for. He's having a baby. Of course he's going to look bigger. You on the other hand have no excuse for your recent weight gain. Maybe you should lay off the chocolate bars." she said while poking his stomach.

"Yeah… well…"

"It's alright May." Ash said. "I admit I'm a bit on the heavy side right now."

May got close to Ash and whispered something to him.

"Say Ash. What's Richie doing here?"

"Huh? Oh! I completely forgot to tell you. There was just a misunderstanding. Everything's fine now."

"Really?"

"Yep. Now Richie and I are together once more."

"Wow, that's terrific Ash." congratulated May. She then turned back to Richie. "I'm really sorry we acted that way to you."

"Yeah." said Max. "We didn't know."

"It's alright."

"Hey May." said Brock. "Why don't you show Ash and Richie the gifts you brought?"

"Oh yeah. I nearly forgot."

"Gifts?" said Ash.

Ash and Richie sat together on the sofa in front of the coffee that had all the gifts on them. May sat to the right of Ash and Max to the left of Richie. Brock sat in the armchair nearby.

"Here, open this one first." May said as she passed one of the boxes to Ash.

"This is really nice of you. Thank you May."

Ash pulled the lid of the colorful box which then revealed layers of pink tissue paper. He unfolded the paper and inside was various baby outfits. Then he let out a small gasp.

"These are beautiful." he said while taking one of the outfits out of the box.

"They were my baby clothes." May told them. "I thought that maybe you'd like to use them for Brooke."

"These were yours? But May… don't you want to save them for your children?"

"It's okay. I want you to have them. You're a truly special friend. I don't know where I'd be now if it weren't for you. Besides, I don't have children now so I can always buy new ones later."

"Wow… thank you May." he said as he hugged her. "I'll be sure to take good care of them."

"I'm sure they'll look great on Brooke." said Richie. "Thanks a lot May." he smiled.

"It's no problem." she smiled.

"Say, are you guys hungry?" Brock asked May and Max. "I just made some delicious chicken soup."

"You bet!" Max eagerly said. "I'm starving!"

"Yeah, especially for your cooking." said May. "It'll be so nice to get a taste of it again."

"Okay then. Two bowls of soup coming up."

"Thanks Brock!" the two said together.

Later that night, Ash showed May and Max some recent pictures taken of Brooke via the sonogram.

"Wow Ash." said May. "She sure has gotten a lot bigger since the last pictures I saw."

"I know. Sometimes I can't believe it myself."

"Do you know exactly when she'll be born?" Max asked.

"Well, Dr. Carter says that it'll be sometime in April."

"That's pretty soon." May said. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah. But in a strange way I'm also excited. I'm eager to see Brooke in person and I can't wait until the time comes."

Ash placed a hand on his tummy as he spoke. He then felt that Brooke started to kick.

"Oh my gosh… She's kicking!" he said with glee.

"Looks like she heard you talking about her." said May.

"Hey May, do you wanna feel her?"

"Sure!"

May move closer to Ash and then placed her hand on his stomach. She giggled as she felt the kick as well.

"She sure is strong isn't she?"

"Yeah." Ash laughed as the kicking continued.

"Do you want to feel Max?"

"Um… No thanks. That's okay."

"Why not? It's not like Ash is going to bite you or anything."

"I know that!"

"Then get over here." May said as she reached over and grabbed Max's arm.

"Ah! May!" he said as he was being pulled.

"Right here…" she said as she held Max's hand on Ash's stomach. "Don't you feel it?"

"Hey yeah… I do feel it… Heh! This is pretty cool."

Ash smiled tenderly.

"Do you two wanna help me sing your lullaby to her?"

"Our lullaby?" May asked.

"Yeah. It seems to be the only song that will get her to sleep."

"Oh wow… Of course we'll help."

"I know it sure helped us." said Max.

"Thanks you guys…"

With that the three began to sing the lullaby softly.

"_Shizuka ni tada mitsumeteta_

_Chiisaki mono nemuru kao_

_Miken ni shiwa sukoshi dake yoseteru_

_Kowai yume nara me o samashite…"_

As they continued, Ash could feel that Brooke's kicks were slowing down meaning that the lullaby was working.

"_Chiisaki mono sore wa watashi_

_Watashi desu magire naku_

_Kagami no naka kokorobososa dake ga_

_Dare ni makenai ashita ni naru yo_

_Soshite watashi wa osanai koro ni_

_Sukoshizutsu modotte yuku_

_Imi mo shirazu utau koi no uta o_

_Hometekureta ano hi ni…"_

Soon she fell asleep all together. But they went on to finish the song.

"_Sora o ao geba_

_Michite kuru watashi no koe ga_

_Sara sara nagaru kaze no naka de kimi mo_

_Fuwari mai agare_

_Koe ga kikoeru_

_Yukubeki michi yubisashite iru_

_Sara sara nagaru kaze no naka de hitori_

_Watashi utatte imasu…"_

* * *

yep... that's it. review if you'd like


	15. Making Room

I'm really really sorry for not updating since March. I've just been busy with school and all and I was stuck on what to do with the story. But I promise you it was well worth the wait because like I promised, I created an interesting chapter here.

So what happens? Well read and find out! I'm not gonna tell you! LOL

* * *

**Making Room**

Ash, Richie, and Delia were busy discussing on where exactly to make Brooke's room. Ash was due to give birth in less than two months. Of course she would stay in the room with Ash and Richie for the first nine months of her life but she would need a room big enough for her crib.

"There is always the guest bedroom Ash." said his mother.

"Yeah. It's a nice size room." Richie included. "It would be big enough for the toys and the crib.

"I know but… I'm just not comfortable with my room being upstairs and hers being all the way down here. What if I can't hear her cry?"

"We could always get baby monitors." said Richie.

"Maybe…"

"Well… I could make the guest bedroom into my new room." his mother suggested. "Then you and Richie can move into my room and Brooke can have yours."

"I don't want you to have to move out of your room Mom. You shouldn't have to do that."

"Really sweetie, I don't mind at all."

"Hmm…"

"Wait, I think I have an idea." Richie said.

"What?" Ash and his mother said in unison.

"Well you wouldn't happen to be using your dad's old study are you?"

"Now that I think of it… not really.

"We haven't really done anything with it after my husband passed away."

"Well, then how about we stick with they original plan to turn the guest bedroom into Brooke's new room and then we can move our room to the old study?"

"I guess that could work…" Ash said as he thought about it.

"It is a pretty good size." said Delia.

"And for Ash's current room, we can make that the new guest bedroom so you won't really have to go without one."

"You know Richie, that's a very clever idea." Delia told him. "Then the two of you would be downstairs along with Brooke."

"What do you think Ash?" Richie asked him.

"Well… it would be really weird adjusting to a new room. But at least I won't have to go up and down the stairs anymore. And I could get to the kitchen easier if Brooke needs a bottle or something. Alright! I'm for that idea."

"Me too. Richie, you're a genius."

"Eh… I doubt that." he said while blushing.

"Well then, I should go out and look at that furniture again. Richie, you could come with me if you'd like so you can have your opinion."

"Sure."

"Man… I wish I could go…" Ash said with disappointment.

"I know how much you want to go but it's just not possible." explained his mother. "People wouldn't understand. It's best for you to just remain in hiding until after you have your baby."

"Yeah I know…"

* * *

The next day, Ash and Richie started packing up and were getting ready to move down stairs from Ash's room. Delia went down stairs and asked Brock, May, Max, and Mr. Mime to help clean out the old study. As Richie helped Ash clean out his closet, he came across something peculiar. It was an orange dress and a blonde wig. 

"Umm… Ash? What's this for?"

"Huh?"

Richie held out the dress and wig.

"Oh-ho that! Funny story behind that one. You see, I used that as a disguise to sneak in the Celadon City Gym."

"Why did you need to sneak in?"

"Oh well… I kinda said bad things about the gym leader's perfume so they threw me out the first time."

"Oh yeah I remember now. She also was a perfume maker. I didn't like it either but I wasn't um… brave enough to say anything."

Ash laughed a little.

"For a second there… I thought you had a secret fetish or something."

"Richie! You're sick!" Ash said as he playfully threw a pillow at Richie.

"Oh I am, am I?"

"Yeah…" he said as he put his hands on Richie's shoulders.

Richie then started to fall backwards slowly while Ash was on top of him while kissing him. Soon after, Ash rolled over on the floor next to him as they cuddled playfully. Richie then glanced back at the dress and wig and thought of an idea.

"Hey Ash?" he said softly.

"Huh?"

"You know… I think I might have an idea on how to get you out of house without anyone noticing."

After a brief explanation, the two then went down stairs to discuss with Delia what Richie thought of.

"Excuse me?" she said in surprise.

"I think it could work Mom." Ash said. "No one would really say anything if I was dressed up as a girl."

"Though there might be a few stares because we're young but that's about it." said Richie.

"Hmm… I don't know."

"Come on. Is anyone really going to believe it's me? Just tell them you're my aunt or something."

"Well… I guess it would be okay. But just this once, alright?"

"Sure." Ash and Richie said together.

For the rest of the day, everyone would continue to clean up the rooms.

Later that night, Delia went through her closet and found one of her old maternity dresses. She then hemmed it so that the dress length would be shorter because Ash wasn't as tall as she was.

* * *

The next morning, Delia gave the dress to Ash. He then went into the bathroom to get dressed. The others all waited outside for him, eager to see what he'd look like. He spent about ten minutes getting ready until he finally came out. When he did, everyone was in shock. It didn't even look like Ash anymore. He was wearing the long blonde wig with his mother's blue maternity dress. 

"Wow Ash… You look… pretty." May commented.

"You really think so?"

"I'd probably believe you were a girl if I didn't know any better." said Brock.

"Yeah, you really pulled it off well." said Max.

"Pika-pika." said Pikachu.

"Gee… thanks." he blushed. He then turned to Richie. "What do you think?"

"You look great no matter what you're wearing." he responded with a smile.

"Aww… you're just saying that."

Richie walked over and held Ash's hand.

"I'm not just saying it. I really mean it."

Ash then blushed.

All of a sudden, they heard the sound of a horn honking outside.

"Oh, that must be Tracey." Delia said. "We'd better get going you two."

"Okay." Ash and Richie said.

"Pikachu." said Pikachu and Sparky.

"Take care." Brock said.

The three walked outside and saw Professor Oak's service van. Tracey got out of the van in order to assist Ash.

"Hey you guys." he greeted.

"Good Morning Tracey." they said back.

"Wow… Who's this pretty little lady?" he said to Ash.

"Um… Tracey. Don't you recognize me? It's me, Ash."

"Ah I know it's you!" he laughed as he patted him on the back. "I was just playing."

"Oh." Ash slightly laughed.

"Thank you so much for doing this for us Tracey." said Delia. "You don't know how much this means to us taking us down there and helping load up the furniture."

"It's no trouble at all."

Tracey opened the sliding door on the side of the van. Richie got in the van first and then helped pull Ash in along with Tracey helping from the outside. Once they were seated Pikachu and Sparky jumped in the van and sat next to their respective trainers. After he helped Delia in the passenger seat, he went to the driver's side, started up the van, and drove off.

* * *

They arrived at the baby goods store within a few minutes. It was located in a small shopping center. Richie and Tracey both helped Ash out of the van. 

"So this is the place?" Ash asked.

"Yes. You wouldn't believe how beautiful their furniture is." said his mother.

"When you guys are ready just come and let mean know." said Tracey. "I'll be waiting out here."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Ash asked.

"It's fine. Don't worry about me. Besides, I came prepared." he said as he pulled out his sketchpad.

"You better not be planning on drawing any girls or I'm telling Misty."

"I'm not, relax... Those days are long gone."

Ash, Richie, and Delia than entered the store. Pikachu and Sparky decided to wait outside with Tracey after a sign said that Pokémon were not allowed because there might be babies inside.

When they entered they saw elaborate displays of baby clothes, furniture, and toys. Ash was in a sort of daze as he looked at all the different products.

"You were right Mom…" he said quietly. "Everything is really beautiful."

"Why, if it isn't Delia!" said a voice from behind. This startled both Ash and Richie.

"Huh?" Delia said as she turned around. "Oh! Hi Mark!"

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been just fine. How about you and Angie?"

"We're doing just fine. Angie finally had the baby. A little boy."

"She did!? Oh congratulations! What did you two name him?"

"We named him Trevor, after her father."

"Oh that's so wonderful. I'm sorry I haven't checked up on you guys. I've just been so busy."

"Aw that's okay. That happens to the best of us. I decided to come here to find some more clothes for the baby."

Mark then looked at the two unfamiliar teenagers that were with Delia.

"Uh! Where I manners? I haven't introduced you. This is my niece…um…Gretchen and her boyfriend Richie."

"Um hi!" Richie blurted out.

"Hello…" Ash said in a feminine voice. He tried hard not to look at Mark directly for fear that he would recognize him.

"Your niece? I never knew you had a sibling?"

"Um well that's because I just found out I had an older sister recently. Yes, you see my mother gave her up for adoption a long time ago."

"Oh well that's wonderful."

"We were just here looking for some things. You see A… I mean Gretchen and Richie are expecting a baby."

"You are? But you're just babies yourselves."

"We know…" said Richie. "But were still going to face this like adults and take care of this baby." He then held Ash's hand.

Ash finally looked up at Mark's face and smiled weakly.

"Wow. This is your niece alright Delia. She looks a lot Ash."

Ash squeaked slightly at the comment.

"You must forgive her Mark. She's a very shy girl."

"Think nothing of it. Say what's up with Ash anyway? I heard rumors that he was home with you after he quit the Aspen League. What was the matter? He couldn't handle it?" he said in a chuckle.

Ash then gritted his teeth together at the remark. Richie smiled at him to try to calm him down.

"Oh no… he's been gone a while now. He really wanted to see all the new pokémon over in the Sinnoh Region."

After that Mark said his good-bye's to the group and left the store.

"Finally… I thought he'd never leave." Ash said under his breath. "'Couldn't handle it'? Why I oughtta…"

"Now Ash, calm down." Richie said as he patted him on the arm.

About an hour and a half went by and both Ash and Richie agreed on what furniture they wanted as well as the color. They, along with Delia, went to the front counter and waited in line. There was only one woman in front of them who happened to have her five month old baby in a stroller next to her. Ash smiled brightly at the sight of the small infant and she even seemed to smile back at him.

"She's really cute." Ash said in a girly voice to the woman.

"Oh why, thank you." said the woman as she smiled. "She can be quite a handful sometimes but it's all well worth it. She's the light of my life."

"Yeah…"

"I can see that you're expecting your own little one."

"Oh, yes. I'm also having a girl."

"Congratulations. I wish you all the best."

"Thank you."

Ash continued to look at the baby girl in the stroller and then leaned his head on Richie's shoulder. Soon they would both have a baby girl of there own.

* * *

Tracey was still in the van waiting for them to get done. While he worked on a drawing, Pikachu and Sparky had fallen asleep on the passenger seat. As he was touching up his art piece he was startled when he heard a knock on the passenger side door. He then looked up expecting to see Delia there but instead saw a young girl. 

"Um… Can I help you?"

"Yes I was looking for someone and I was wondering if you could tell me if you've seen him or not."

"Well… sure. What does he look like?"

"Here's his picture." she said as she handed over a photo Tracey.

Tracey gasped at who the photo was of.

"His name is Richie. His housekeeper told me that he headed off to this quaint town."

"You don't say…"

"So have you seen him?"

"Uh! Well… I…"

Just then Sparky awoke from his nap and picked his head up.

"Pikaaa…" he yawned.

"Wha… Sparky?" said the girl. "What's he doing here?"

Just when the moment couldn't get anymore awkward, Ash, Richie, and Delia walked out of the store. The girl's mouth swung open when she saw Richie holding hands with the unfamiliar pregnant girl that was with him.

"Richie!" she screamed.

The group shot their heads up at the sound of Richie's name. Ash noticed Richie's face turn pale when he looked at her.

"C-Clara?" he mumbled out.

"Oh god…" Tracey said under his breath as he slapped his forehead. "Richie, you moron."

"What the hell is this!?" Clara said with rage. She marched over to them. "Who is she!?" She then pointed at Ash.

"Now Clara… Don't get mad. You knew we weren't a real couple."

"Oh we weren't!? That's news to me! You knew there was something special between us and you go out and find this pregnant hussy!"

As she said that she placed her finger on Ash's chest.

"Hand's off!" Ash yelled as he smacked her hand away.

"Why you little…"

"So this is Clara. I know all about you. You're that psycho that thinks Richie is your boyfriend. Well guess what, he's not your boyfriend, he's mine."

_"Ash, what are you doing?"_ Richie thought. _"Don't pick a fight with her."_

"How DARE you! You're a liar! Richie's MY boyfriend! He has been for years!"

"No I wasn't Clara. You know that."

"Richie how could you…?" she said as her eyes started to well with tears. "You knew how I felt about you and yet you played me for a fool."

Ash looked at Clara's face. There was no way she was lying. She truly believed that Richie was her boyfriend. Ash became angry with Richie for not setting the girl straight earlier.

"And I know… that it's all her fault! She turned you against me!"

Clara then made an attempt to pull what she thought was Ash's hair. Ash held the back of his head to prevent the wig from coming off. He then grabbed her arm to try to get her away from him.

"Oh my goodness! Stop this!" Delia said.

"Knock it off Clara!" said Richie. "Can't you see she's pregnant!?"

Tracey then got out of the van to try help out. By now others from the other stores came out to see what all the fuss was about. Clara all the while was trying her best to land a punch on Ash. However he proved to be much stronger than she was. He managed to grab both of her arms and then pushed her down into a puddle hard.

"Ouch!" she screamed as she scraped her leg on the asphalt of the parking lot.

"Uh, Clara!" Richie then approached her to help her out. "Are you alright?"

This infuriated Ash. How dare he not make sure that he was okay first before going over to her? After all she was the one who swung at him first.

"Are you okay Honey?" his mother asked him.

"Forget this! I'm done!" Ash then trotted off in the other direction.

"Wait A- uh Gretchen!" Richie said as he left Clara in the puddle.

This action broke Clara's heart to bits. As Richie and Delia went after Ash, Tracey thought it most considerate if he helped the girl out of the puddle, even if he felt that she disserved it. Even one else just looked on in curiosity.

"Pika-pi!" said Pikachu after he saw how upset his trainer was.

He then hopped out the passenger window and followed them. Sparky in turn followed Pikachu.

"Ash. Please stop." Richie begged while trying to keep up with Ash.

"No! Go back to your girlfriend. You apparently care more about her more than me!"

"She hurt her leg. I had to just make sure she was okay. I was worried about you too."

"Well isn't that nice to know. You were more worried about her boo-boo then the life of your child! You can go to hell!"

Richie then stopped. Ash continued to walk away.

"Maybe you should back off for a while." Delia suggested. "Let me handle this."

Then all of a sudden, Ash stopped. He held is stomach and dropped to his knees.

"Aahhh!" he screamed.

"Ash!" Delia yelled, not even thinking that might blow his cover as a girl. That wasn't her concern at the moment.

She rushed over to his side as fast as she could. Pikachu and Sparky also arrived on the scene.

"Pika-pi!!" he yelled.

Richie's heart then jumped to his throat. He never heard Ash scream like that. It was a shriek of extreme pain.

"Ash, what's wrong? Tell me." his mother pleaded.

"My…my stomach hurts. Really bad…"

"My god… could it be time already?"

"Time? Y-you mean time to have the baby? Oww!"

"Richie! Get over here and help me get him up!"

Richie then dashed over to the two of them.

"I don't need his help…" Ash said. "I can get up myself…"

"Now's not the time to be stubborn. Let him help us."

Ash then reluctantly agreed. He had one arm swung over his mother's shoulder and the other over Richie's. They helped him walk back to the van.

"It'll be okay Ash…" Richie said to him. "Just hang on…"

Ash didn't reply and just continue to moan in pain. However he looked as if he was ready to go another round with Clara. But once they reached the van, they found that she was already gone.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Tracey asked.

"We think he's in labor. Call Professor Oak and tell him what's going on."

"Yes Mrs. Ketchum, right away."

As he began to dial the cell phone number, the man who had brought out the furniture that they had purchased looked on in curiosity.

"Did she just say 'he's in labor'?" he asked Tracey.

"Uh… she's just nervous. She meant to say 'she'. I'm afraid we're gonna have to come back for the furniture."

Delia and Richie both helped Ash into the backseat. She laid his body against hers so he was able to lay out flat on the seats.

"Mom… I'm scared… It's way too early… what if something's wrong?" he said as he started to cry.

"Try not to think that way sweetie." she said as she gently removed the wig from Ash's head. "Everything will be okay…" She then began to stroke his head. "I'm right here…"

Richie looked at the two of them after he got in the passenger seat. He had a look of extreme guilt on his face. At the moment he hoped and prayed that both Ash and Brooke would be alright.

"Yes… We're on our way right now…" Tracey was telling the professor over the phone. "Good-bye. Alright, let's get over to the lab now." he said as he started the engine and began to back out.

"Pika-pi…" said a worried Pikachu.

Unbeknownst to them, Clara had limped off over to her awaiting limousine were her chauffeur eventually helped her with her wounded leg. Still fueled with sadness and rage, she decided to make a phone call. She got out her cell phone and began dialing a number. She then held the phone to her ear and waited.

"…Yes, may I please be directed to Robert Belmont please…? It's most important that I talk to him…"

* * *

Was this a juicy chapter or what? If you want to know what happens to Ash then stay tuned. I'm pretty sure that it'll get done soon.

Review please


	16. From Now On

Yet another short chapter. But don't worry. I promise that there will be a really good chapter really really soon. It was all orginally going to be one big chapter. But I thought it best just to seperate them. So just enjoy this one.

**

* * *

**

Once they reached Professor Oak's lab, Ash was rushed inside and into the room that the professor had been saving for the delivery.

"Hang in there Ash." the professor told him. "I called Dr. Carter right after Tracey called me. He should be here very soon."

"Ow…"

His mother held his hand as he lay there on the bed. Richie was on the other side of his bed. Ash was doing his best not to look at him.

"Ash… I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Well it happened didn't it? There's nothing you can do about it now… AH!"

"Shh… Don't try to talk Ash." his mother said. "Just rest…"

Just then, Dr. Carter entered the room.

"Hey Ash. How are you doing?"

"Doctor… I've gotta real bad feeling. Its way too soon for Brooke to be born… Ah…"

"Alright, alright. I understand your concern and I'll do everything I can to straighten it out. Don't worry."

He then turned to Richie and Delia.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to be alone with Ash for a second."

"No, please…" Ash said. "I don't want my mom to leave… Please let her stay."

"Well, alright. She may stay if it makes you comfortable."

Richie stood there for a moment feeling really sad and worried.

"What are you waiting for!?" Ash barked. "Get out! I didn't say you could stay!"

With that, Richie darted out of the room and closed the door behind him.

_"I don't want to even know what that was all about…"_ the doctor thought.

Outside Richie waited in the hallway along with Tracey, Pikachu, and Sparky.

"So he didn't want you in there huh?" Tracey asked.

"No…"

"Pikaachu…" said Sparky with concern.

Pikachu walked over to the door and waited there. He wanted to know if his trainer was going to be okay.

"Pika-pi…" he said as tears formed in his eyes.

"Hey… Cheer up Pikachu." Tracey said. "I'm sure he's going to be okay."

Richie then began to pace back and forward down the hallway.

"This is all my fault… I should've never thought of this dumb idea… If Ash would have stayed home like he was going to, this never would have happened."

"Well… you don't know that. This may have happened anyway even if he was at home."

"I doubt that… Now I may have sent him into an early labor because I upset him so much."

Richie then sat on a bench that was nearby. He put his face in his hands and let out a loud sigh.

_"I've already lost my grandfather…" _he thought. _"I can't stand the thought of losing you and Brooke too… Oh god… What have I done?"_

Just then, Richie and Tracey heard the sounds of people running down the hall. It was Brock, May, and Max. Professor Oak had called them earlier and told them what had happened to Ash.

"Ash!" Brock said in a panic. "Where is he?"

"He's in there." Tracey pointed to the room. "His doctor's having a look at him right now."

"Is he okay?" May asked.

"We're not exactly sure."

Brock then noticed Richie sitting quietly on the bench.

"What exactly happened while you were at the store?" he asked him.

But Richie did not answer him. He just continued to stare at the ground. Brock was tired of waiting for an answer and ended up grabbing him by the collar and raised him in the air.

"What did you do to him!!?"

"Brock, stop it!" May, Max, and Tracey said.

The three grabbed on to him and he ended up dropping Richie.

"It was something you did wasn't it!?" he roared.

"Yes it was, okay! Clara showed up, she and Ash got into a fight, and I upset him! There! You satisfied!?"

"No, I'm not… I warned you before. He and that baby better be okay, or else…"

"You think I don't already feel bad about this!? I'm miserable okay! I never wanted this to happen. All I wanted was for him to finally enjoy a day out of the house and it all went horribly wrong…"

Richie then looked out the ground once more and then began crying.

"Pikaa…" said Sparky with concern.

"I don't care if he never wants to talk to me again. Just as long as he and Brooke are alright…"

Brock then begun to feel bad about what he'd done. He then realized that he was in the same predicament just six months earlier. _(chapter 3)_

"Alright… stop crying. Now's not the time to feel sorry for yourself."

"Huh…?"

"Let's just pray that he and Brooke will be okay." he said as he put a hand on Richie's shoulder.

"Um hum…" Richie nodded.

Just then the door opened to the room Ash was in. Pikachu quickly jumped out of the way to avoid being hit. Dr. Cater then emerged. All of Ash's friends then looked at him waiting for an answer. The doctor then gave a smile.

"It was just a false alarm. He and the baby are just fine."

May and Max then began to cheer and hug each other. Richie, Brock, and Tracey all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we go in and see him?" asked Max.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Come on in."

Pikachu was the first one through that door. The others soon followed. However, Richie stood where he was.

"Aren't you coming in?" asked Brock.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. Ash is still mad at me and he made it clear before that he didn't want me around."

"That may be what he says, but deep down I know he wants you there with him."

"Well okay… If you say so."

Inside…

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said as he nuzzled Ash's neck.

"Ha-ha. Don't worry Pikachu. I'm just fine now."

"Pika."

"Now just to be safe, I don't want you leaving the house anymore." Dr. Carter advised. "And I want you to get as much rest as possible. No more stress, alright?"

"Yes, of course."

As he said that, his mother kissed him on the head.

"I'm so glad that everything's okay." she said.

Ash then talked to Brock, May, and Max for a little bit. All the while Richie stood in the back towards the door.

"Wait to you see all the furniture we got." said Ash.

"Yeah, I'm interested in seeing it." said May.

"Hey Ash?" said Brock quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think its time to make amends with Richie?"

"…Why should I. Besides he cares more about that girl than he does me…"

"Now you know that's not true…"

"Hmm…"

"Outside he told me how worried he was that something might be wrong with you and Brooke. He said that he didn't even care you never wanted to speak to him again just as long as you and the baby were alright."

"…Really…?"

Brock then nodded and smiled.

"From there Richie couldn't understand what they were discussing. Then all of a sudden, everyone got up and headed towards the door. Richie looked confused until Brock put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him.

"Go on…"

Then he left the room with the others. Now he was alone with Ash along with Pikachu and Sparky. Richie and Sparky both approached Ash's bedside slowly.

"Hi Ash…"

"Hi…"

"Are you okay now? Is the pain gone?"

"Yeah it's gone… For the most part."

"About what happened earlier… there was no excuse for it. I should have defended you more."

"That's only part of it. There were other things that you did wrong."

"Huh?"

"I understand that you're sorry about not making sure I was okay before you checked on Clara. But before you left your home, you should have made it clear to her that there was no chance of a relationship between you and her. I could tell in her eyes that she truly believed that you were hers. You should have straightened this out with her a long time ago. Then we might have not of had this problem. I know you were probably scared of hurting her feelings but I think what happened today was way worse."

"I never thought of it that way…"

"And… I must admit that I didn't do much to help the situation by provoking her with that "psycho" comment. I really shouldn't have been drawn in so easily by her name calling. I was being immature on my part. I realize that in the end it's not others that stress me out. I'm the only one in control of that and I shouldn't have gotten so heated over this."

"Ash…"

"Yeah...?"

"You know I love you right? I was so scared when I heard you scream back in the parking lot."

Richie then held Ash's hand.

"Yes… I understand. And I love you too… And… I'm sorry for yelling at you like that… I know you were only trying to help me."

"It's okay."

The two looked at each other lovingly before giving one another a kiss. The long lip lock was then interrupted when Brooke gave Ash a good kick.

"Oh my gosh! She's kicking! Oh it's so good to feel that…"

Richie then smiled warmly. It was good to know that Brooke was feeling fine too. Ash then grabbed his hand so that he could feel her move.

"She feels as strong as ever." said Richie.

"Pika…" said Pikachu and Sparky at the same time.

"We love you Brooke…" Ash said as he looked down at his stomach. "And from now on your daddy and I will do what ever it takes to keep you safe before and after you get here."

* * *

Review please...


	17. Daddy Dearest

Promised I'd get it to you quickly...

This is the moment alot of you have been waiting for. Richie's parents find out about his sexuality and about the baby. What will happen? Read to find out.

* * *

**Daddy Dearest**

About two days later, after Ash had fully recovered, the whole gang began to work on Brooke's new room. Tracey had brought the furniture over that they left at the store about a day earlier. Ash, Richie, Brock, Pikachu, and Sparky were the ones painting the new room. Delia, May, Max, and Mr. Mime were working on redoing the old study and making it Ash's new room.

The boys were painting the room a light pastel pink with white trimming. Both Richie and Brock took care of the handling the big job of painting with the rollers. Richie took care of the walls while Brock took care of the ceiling. Ash on the other hand was busy painting the trim that was near the floor and on the door way. Pikachu and Sparky were painting the trim on the window.

"You doing okay there Ash?" Richie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he said with a smile.

"Just making sure."

"If you get tired just let us know." said Brock. "It's really no trouble at all."

"Thanks but I'll be okay. Besides, I'm having a great time. It's nice to know that I can have a part in help make my daughter's room"

"Pika-pika." said Pikachu.

"Piikaachu" said Sparky.

"Just try to get most of the paint on the trim rather than your face." said Richie.

"Huh?"

Richie then got out a mirror and showed it to Ash. He had white paint smudges on his nose and on his chin. He and Richie then started to laugh.

Meanwhile, back in the study, Delia was busy polishing the trophy that Ash had won when he was in the Orange Islands. Earlier she had asked May and Max to buy some cleaning products from the local store that she needed. After she was done she went to put it on top of the television with all of Ash's other badges and symbols.

As she was about to place on the television, she was startled by a couple of loud knocks on the door. This spooked her so much that she nearly dropped it.

Delia then went to the door to answer it. Still, the loud knocks continued so she began to walk faster. The knocks even got the attention of Ash, Richie, and Brock. When Delia got to the door, she saw a man and a woman who were well dressed. The man was about to knock again until she opened the door.

"May I hel…"

"Where's Richie?" the man blatantly asked. Delia noticed that the woman with him seemed very worried.

As soon as Richie heard that voice, he froze and turned deathly pale.

"Uhh… Richie?" Ash asked.

"And you are?" Delia asked the strange man.

"Robert Belmont. This is my wife, Penelope. We're his parents."

Back in newly painted room, Richie removed the apron that he was using to keep the paint off of him.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

"Just wait here. What ever happens, do not leave."

Richie then left the room. Ash looked at Brock with confusion.

"You're Robert Belmont?" asked Delia.

"Yes!" he said agitatedly. "Now where's our son?" he said as tried to push himself in.

"Now just wait a minute!" she said angrily.

"Robert! Stop it!" said Penelope while tugging on her husbands suit. "This isn't helping."

"I bet you're the girl's mother." he said to Delia.

"Girl…?"

"Dad…?" said a voice from behind Delia. The group then turned and saw Richie. When Delia looked at him, she saw a look of fear on his face.

"Richard!" said Penelope in relief.

"Hi Mom…"

After the confirmation, Delia finally let the couple in.

"What the hell is going here!?"

"Wha…what do you mean…?" he stuttered.

"Clara called and told us you have a pregnant girlfriend!"

"Clara!? Girlfriend!?" he said in surprise.

"Yes! She said she saw you holding hands with a pregnant girl in a shopping center!"

It was then that Richie realized the girl that they referred to was actually Ash.

_"Damn that snitch…"_ he thought.

"Don't stand there like an idiot!" barked Richie's father.

"Now that was uncalled for!" yelled Delia.

"You stay out of this! This is none of your concern."

The yelling finally caused Ash, Brock and the two pikachu to look out the door. The two then crept quietly around the corner and looked in the living room.

"Brock…" said Ash quietly. "I think that's Richie's dad…"

"Man… I can see why Richie was afraid to tell him about you."

"Answer me dammit!" Robert yelled in Richie's face. "Did you get a girl pregnant or not!?"

"…No. I didn't get a girl pregnant…"

Robert's face then had a huge expression of relief.

"Oh thank goodness…" said Penelope.

"But… I did get a boy pregnant…" he said as he braced himself.

"…What?" his father said in disbelief. Richie just looked at the floor in silence.

"Richard… A boy…?" said his mother

"If this is some kind of joke, it's NOT funny!"

"It's not a joke…" said a voice from behind. They all turned and saw Ash entering the living room followed by Brock, Pikachu and Sparky.

Once he was fully visible, both Robert and Penelope were completely shocked. There, right in front of them, was indeed a pregnant boy. However, Robert's face turned from an expression of shock to an expression of disgust.

"Ash…" Richie whispered to himself.

"You see, I really am pregnant and I'm definitely not a girl." Ash explained

"But… how…?" Richie's mother asked as she began to cry.

"Impossible…" muttered his father.

"I thought the same thing…" said Ash. "But it is very possible and I'm the proof of it."

"You're kidding me right? This can't be true."

"No Dad, this is true." Richie told him. "Ash is having a baby and it's mine. You're going to be a grandfather."

Robert had a look of mad fury on his face.

"Tell me this was some sort of a mistake. Humor me. You're not actually interested in that boy are you?"

"Listen… I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time now and I think it's time for me to say it." Richie inhaled deeply and spoke again. "I'm gay. I've only been interested in guys ever since I realized what love is. Clara is not my girlfriend and I will never have a girlfriend. That's just the way it is…"

By now Robert was in a blind rage and Penelope was in tears. He was hot under the collar and clenching his fist tightly.

"This is all just a nightmare that I'm about to wake up from…" he muttered.

"Sorry… but this is very real. I love Ash and nothing's going to change it."

There was a deafening silence among the room. You would probably be able to hear a pin drop on the carpet. Then, in a flash, Robert struck Richie in the side of his face with a closed fist knocking him to the floor. Penelope screamed in horror as well as Ash.

"Richard!" she yelled.

"Piikachu!!" yelled Sparky.

She tried to help him but was stopped by Robert. Meanwhile Ash and Sparky rushed to Richie's side as well as Delia.

"Leave him. He's a lost cause now."

"Richie… Are you okay?" Ash asked him with deep concern as he helped him up.

"Y-yeah… I'll be okay…" He then removed his hand from his face revealing a large bruise around his eye.

"Piikaa…!!" Sparky said angrily as he faced Richie's father with sparks flying from his cheeks.

"You really think you know what love is?" Robert asked with intimidation. "You have no fucking clue! Love is ONLY between a man and a woman! What you're doing will land you in the pits of hell!"

"You bastard…" Ash said. "Love can be between anyone! Men and women, men and men, women and women, it doesn't matter! It doesn't go just one way! What isn't love however is everything you're doing right now!"

"Like I'm going to listen to what the likes of you have to say. Dirty little sinner. You probably had so many partners by now that I bet Richie isn't even the father of that bastard child."

"Why you!"

Ash attempted to go full on and attack him but Brock stopped him in time.

"Don't Ash! It isn't worth hurting your baby over this."

Ash realized he was right and put himself at ease.

"You can bash me all you want but don't you EVER say anything about my baby. And I'll have you know that Richie was my first and ONLY partner."

"Yeah, right. Gays can't stay monogamous. They need to get their fix everyday by anyone. That's why you and your baby won't be going anywhere near heaven."

"That's it!" Delia screamed. "I don't need to here this banter! Get out of my house now or I'm calling the police!"

"Very well. I'll be all too happy to leave." He looked at Richie once more. "You still have one more chance to save yourself. Just come with your mother and me and will forget this ever happened."

Penelope looked at her son with great worry. She wanted him to come with her. However she was afraid of what might happen if he did.

"…I'm not going anywhere… You were the one who always taught me to take responsibility for my actions. This is my new family now…"

Robert became angry again with a feeling of being beaten. However he maintained his composure.

"Fine… Then consider yourself dead to me."

He then made his way for the door. However Penelope wasn't moving.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go. You heard him. He doesn't want to be saved. Let him stay with these sinners."

Penelope stood there for a few seconds trying to think of what to do. But then she ultimately decided to follow her husband. Upon this action Richie went into a state of dismay.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Delia told her. "Choosing a man over your child. I don't care how long you've been married or if he's the father of your son, your child should come first no matter what. What kind of a mother are you?"

Penelope then froze by the door when she listened to Delia's harsh words. She began to tear up once more.

"She's not a mother anymore." Robert told her.

After that he slammed the front door shut. Outside he marched away from the house angrily as Penelope followed.

"You see… This is what we get for letting him go on that stupid Pokémon journey."

Penelope didn't respond to the comment and just kept walking.

As they were leaving, May and Max made bad timing as they returned to the house looking curiously at the mysterious man and woman entering their limousine.

"Who are they?" Max asked his sister.

"I don't know."

Robert then looked at the two kids as he was lighting up a cigarette.

"Hey… You two live here?"

"Um… no but are friend does?" May told him.

"If you care about going to heaven then you'll stay away from this family."

Both May and Max had confused looks on their faces then looked at each other. Robert then got in his limousine and ordered the driver to drive off.

"Whoa… what was that all about?" asked Max.

"Who knows…?"

Inside the Ketchum house, Delia rushed to get an ice pack for Richie's eye. Ash was on the sofa next to Richie holding on to his arm. Richie continued to hold his hand over his eye.

May and Max entered the house and saw Delia coming from the kitchen with an ice pack in her hand and then put it on Richie's eye.

"What happened here?" they both asked.

"We got a little visit from Richie's parents." Brock explained. He then looked back at Richie. "And his father didn't take the news of Ash so well."

"He hit him…?" asked Max.

Brock nodded in response.

"Just keep it right here sweetie." Delia instructed before letting go of the ice pack, leaving Richie to hold it.

"Thank you, ma'am…"

"Can I do anything for you?" Ash asked him.

"No… That's alright."

"Now I fully understand why you never wanted to tell him. I'm so sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. This isn't your fault. Besides, him finding out like this wasn't exactly the best way. It probably would have been better if I just told him over the phone."

Richie then felt a headache coming on from the blow and decided to lean back on the couch. Ash then stroked his head gently.

"You poor thing…" Delia said. "Why don't you go lie down in my room for a while? Just until you feel a little better."

"That sounds like a good idea… Alright… Thank you."

Richie then got up and Delia led him to her room.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ash asked.

Richie really wanted to be alone but he thought he would hurt Ash's feelings if he said no. He was about to answer when Delia cut him off.

"Ash… Richie needs some alone time right now. Maybe you can see him a little later."

"Oh… Okay. Just if you need me just say so."

"Sure…" Richie said while weakly smiling.

Up in Delia's room, Richie was seated on the bed, ice pack still in hand.

"You just try to relax. We'll all be down stairs if you need anything."

She then turned to walk out the door.

"Wait…"

"Huh?"

"Do… do you think we can talk?"

"Well sure we can."

She sat on the bed next to him.

"I don't know if Ash could understand… But since you had parents like mine, I figured you could relate to me more…"

Richie then removed the ice pack from his eye and laid it on his lap.

"My dad has always been that stubborn. If he doesn't get his way he starts screaming and yelling like you saw. However… this is the first time he's ever struck me."

"So your father yelled a lot?"

"Yeah… It's kinda weird. You think I would be happy when my dad would be away from home all the time but truthfully… I really wanted him there."

"I don't think that's strange at all. You obviously love your dad and you wanted him around as a child."

"Yes… That's why I didn't think that Ash would understand me. He would probably think I'm crazy for wanting to be around that man. What you might not know is that my dad can be a really nice person if he wants to. That's the father that I wanted Ash to meet and the grandfather I wanted Brooke to grow up with."

"Were you close to your mother?"

"Oh yeah… Probably way closer than my dad. She would have to go away at times due to her job but she would always try to make it up to me when she came back."

Richie's bottom lip then started to quiver.

"That's why… I was so shocked that she walked away. I thought for sure that no matter how bad it went that she would take my side and try to calm my dad down… But… she didn't do it this time…"

Richie could no longer hold back the tears and began crying. Delia then grabbed the young man and hugged him.

"I know… It must be so hard for you right now… I knew by the look in your eyes that you were hurt. Not just physically but emotionally. And I believe that Ash knew it too…"

"I just feel so ashamed…"

"There's nothing to be ashamed of… That was a very grown up thing you did down there and I'm proud of you. But I also understand that you want support from your parents as well."

Richie then looked up at her.

"You know… I recall acting the same way when I was pregnant with Ash. My mother ordered me to have an abortion and to cut off all ties with my boyfriend, Ash's father. But I told her no… There was no way that I could ever let down my new family and I was willing to do anything to protect them. Just like what you did for Ash today. In a way, I saw myself in you today… But there's one thing that I wish for you that would be different from me. I hope that maybe your parents will change their minds and hopefully reconsider."

"Thank you… But once my father's mind is made up that's it… There's no changing it…"

"Well… you never know… There could be room for change if you could just show the way…"

"…Maybe there could be… But it might take a while…"

Delia then gave him a big smile.

"Now… why don't you get some rest for now? Hopefully that headache will subside."

"Okay…" he said as he sniffed up the tears.

Richie then lied down on the bed with his head resting on the pillow. Delia handed him back the ice pack which he then placed over his. She then dimmed the lights in the room and was about to walk out the door.

"Hey… Mrs. Ketchum?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you… For everything. You've been awfully kind to me since I got here and I want to let you know that I really appreciate it."

"It's not trouble at all sweetie… After all you're part of our family now. Have a good rest."

With that she left the room and shut the door. Richie then closed his eyes and attempted to go to sleep.

"Family…" he whispered to himself.

* * *

Review please 


	18. Baby Shower

Sorry sorry SORRY for not updating in over 7 months. god does time fly. Just think, a few more chapters and the story with be done.

I got good news for you Gary fans, hes in it!!! In this chap the gang throws Ash a baby shower! Don't worry, it's not as boring as it sounds. Features one-sided Bouldershipping and Palletshipping.

**

* * *

**

**Baby Shower**

7 weeks later…

Ash was only weeks away from giving birth. Though by the way he looked, he felt that he was going to give birth at any second. He could not stop staring at himself in the mirror. He would lift up his shirt and gaze at his beach-ball sized belly for minutes on end. Richie happened to catch him during one of his staring sessions. After he heard Ash let out a loud sigh, he decided to try to lend a comforting hand.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"What's the matter…? Look at me! I'm huge."

Richie just smiled.

"I just can't believe how fat I am…"

Richie then came up from behind Ash and wrapped his arms around him.

"You're not fat… You're pregnant… And to me, you've never looked more beautiful."

"…You're just saying that to make me feel better…"

"I promise you I'm not…"

Richie then kissed Ash on the cheek.

"Hm… you're just too kind to me." he said while giggling.

* * *

Ash's mother and friends went out earlier that day but had no idea why. It was almost evening now and they still didn't return. Ash was becoming worried but Richie assured him that they were fine.

Fifteen minutes earlier, Tracey had called them and said that Professor Oak wanted to talk to Ash about his Pokémon. Tracey said that he'd come down to Ash's house in a half-an-hour to take him and Richie up to the mansion. The two boys started to get ready.

"Man… I really don't want to go to Professor Oak's right now." Ash whined as he was buttoning up his sweater. "I'm just so achy. But if it's about my Pokémon, then it's best that I go anyway."

"Just try to hang in there." Richie said. "If it gets too bad then we can just come home."

Fifteen minutes later, Tracey arrived and the couple, along with their Pikachu, boarded the van and headed off to the mansion.

"So what's with my Pokémon Trace? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothings wrong. The professor just has a couple of simple questions he'd like to ask you."

"Well if they're simple then couldn't he just ask me over the phone?"

"Well… I just think he wants you to take a look at them as well."

"Oh…"

Richie then placed his hand on top of Ash's. When Ash turned and looked at him, he was smiling. This caused Ash to smile back.

They arrived that the lab within a few minutes. Tracey led them inside the mansion and headed over to the living room. But once they reached the living room, Ash saw that it was pitch black. Both Ash and Richie walked into the darkness.

"Tracey… What's up with the lights?"

"Hold on, I'll get them."

Once he flipped the light switch, the sound of party-poppers filled the room and confetti fell from the ceiling. Surprised, Ash grabbed on to Richie's arm. Then he saw his mother, Professor Oak, and his friends appear from behind furniture and shouted:

"Surprise! It's a Baby Shower!"

"Wh-what? Baby Shower?"

"That's right." his mother said as she approached. "We've been planning it for a week now. We set up everything while you were at the house with Richie."

"Richie, did you know about this?" Ash asked his lover.

"Yeah." he laughed. "My job was to keep you distracted."

"Wow… Thank you all so much. I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Professor Oak said. "Just relax and have a good time. Brock made plenty of your favorites foods."

"Thanks Brock."

"Hey don't mention it. You disserve it."

Ash helped himself to some of the food on the table. Then both May and Misty dragged him over to the sofa and sat him down. It was time for Ash to receive his gifts. Misty and Tracey presented theirs first. It was more Pokémon plush toys. One was of a Pichu, a Smoochum, a Vulpix, and a Swablu. Next it was May and Max's turn. They gave him a couple of blankets and pillows that had heart shapes stitched into them. Professor Oak's gift was two baby monitors that he invented. Not only could you hear the baby with them, but it has a warning alarm that could tell you if the baby is in distress. And finally, his mother gave him a hat and outfit she had knitted herself especially for Brooke.

"I figure she can wear it once you bring her home."

"Thanks Mom" he said as he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her. "I'll be sure to put her in it when we take her home. And thank you all for the gifts. I love every single one of them."

* * *

A few more hours into the party, Ash had become slightly tired. He sat on the couch after picking out some more food and Pikachu joined. After he ate the food, he leaned and rested his head on the back of the couch and Pikachu curled up next to him. His eyelids fluttered as he tried to stay awake. Then he was approached by Professor Oak.

"Ash, you have someone here who came to see you." he said.

"Huh? See me?"

When Ash turned his head to look at the professor, he saw his childhood rival, Gary Oak, standing next to him.

"Hey Ashy-boy." he said.

"G-Gary?"

"Who else?"

Ash stood up from the couch.

"Wow… long time, no see. Say, you look different."

"Yeah. I trimmed my hair down a couple inches." he said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'd have to say that you look different too."

"Oh… uh yeah." he said as he smiled and put a hand on his stomach.

"I'll leave you two to catch up." Professor Oak said as he left the pregnant boy with his grandson.

"So are you still studying in Sinnoh like Professor Oak said?"

"Yep. I decided to come down here after I heard you were due to give birth soon."

"Really? Gary, if you're really busy then you don't have to be here if you don't want to."

"You kidding? I want to be here. We're friends right?"

"Of course we are. Since we were kids. Thanks for being here Gary."

"Don't mention it."

The two rivals then sat back down on the couch.

"So, who's the guy who knocked you up?"

"Excuse me?"

Just then, Richie approached after seeing Gary had arrived.

"So you're the famous Gary." Richie said. "Ash has told me a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you." he said has he stuck his hand out for a hand shake.

Gary looked confused.

"Gary, this is Richie: My boyfriend and the father of my baby." Ash said.

"Oh, so this is the guy you did the nasty with." Gary then shook Richie's hand vigorously. "Good ta meet cha'."

"Uh yeah…" Richie said uncomfortably.

"So what's Ash told you about me?"

"That you are his rival and a Pokémon researcher. I bet you get to meet interesting Pokémon all the time. That must be amazing."

"Yeah. But it can be difficult at times. But hey, I'm doin' what I love. What can I say?"

--

I little while later, Ash stepped outside to get some fresh air. As he looked off in the distance he could see his Tauros running together around the hills of the ranch. He then looked up at the sky and gazed at the stars and moon. His viewed them from many different places around the world but they could never compare to the way the look in his home town of Pallet. Gary then joined him out on the patio.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Gary asked.

"Huh?"

"The stars."

"Oh, yeah."

"The stars don't shine this bright in Sinnoh as they do here."

"I know exactly what you mean. There isn't any place on Earth quite like Pallet Town."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you certain that this 'Richie' has your best interest at heart?"

"Of course he does? Why do you ask that?"

"I don't know. Guess it's just because I don't know him that well. I'm just concerned about you."

"That's very kind but you don't have to worry. He's a great guy."

Gary then did something quite unexpected. He walked behind Ash and then wrapped his arms around him. Ash squeaked a little bit. He then rested his chin on Ash's shoulder.

"But you're an even greater guy." Gary whispered to his ear. "And I want to make sure you get the best of everything."

Ash then felt Gary's lips begin to press against his face. It was then that he felt he had gone too far. He broke away from Gary's hold and pushed him away.

"Gary, no!" he strongly said. "I'm in love with Richie and nothing's going to change that. Sorry."

"Hm… that's okay." Gary smirked.

He then approached Ash once more and then gently grabbed his chin.

"It's still not going to change the way I feel about you…"

Ash was getting ready to push him away once more when Richie came outside.

"What's… going on here?" he asked in a confused voice.

"Richie!" Ash said as he turned away from Gary. "Richie, it's not what it looks like, I swear."

He then approached Richie and held his hand. Richie still looked in shock from what he saw. Gary had a smug look on his face as he leaned against the railing of the patio.

"Are you okay…?" Ash asked.

"I-I don't know. I'm just a little surprised here."

"Richie, please. I promise that nothing happened. Gary was just…"

"…checking if something was in his eye." Gary quickly responded. "Ash asked if he could see if I saw something that was stuck in his eye. That's all."

Ash looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Gary just gave a quick nod.

"Yeah… That's what he was doing…"

"It's okay Ash." Richie said. "If you say nothing happened then I believe you."

Ash then rested himself in Richie's arms for a short moment before kissing. Gary looked away when they did.

"I came to tell you that Brock wants to see you. He's in the kitchen."

"Thanks Richie."

He went back inside the mansion in order to seek Brock. Richie watched him go inside and then looked at Gary in the corner of his eye. He was about to go inside too until Gary spoke.

"Are you really ready to take care of Ash and the baby?"

"What? Why do you ask that?"

"It's just a simple question. Answer it."

"Yes. I'm ready to dedicate my entire being for Ash and Brooke."

"Hmm…" he said as he smirked again.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing… I just think you aren't 100 percent sure of what you're going to do."

Richie was now becoming angry.

"That's your opinion."

"Just know that taking care of an infant is no easy deal. You might as well say good bye to your free life. You'll be getting up every two hours at night because your baby will cry because she's hungry or she needs her diaper changed. You'll be so exhausted during the day that you won't want to do anything else. But that's too bad cause, guess what? You have a baby now and can't afford to sleep. And what about the future? You'll need to raise her and teach her the ways of the world. This baby not only depends on Ash but you as well."

When Richie thought about his life as a father, he got a cold chill. Gary was right. Brooke will now be the focal point of his life. He would have to give up all that he knows. There will be no more Pokémon training or anything else. He then thought that things would be even harder without his parents there to help support him.

"So… what do you think now?"

"That all doesn't matter to me. I will always be there for Brooke and Ash and nothing, or no one, is going to change that."

Gary then held his nose in the air and continued to smirk. As he was walking back into the mansion, he patted Richie on the shoulder.

"Glad we can have this talk. We should do it again sometime."

Though Gary went into the house, Richie remained where he was out on the patio. He was still thinking about what Gary said. He clenched his fists in a nervous reaction.

Meanwhile, Ash joined Brock who was alone in the kitchen.

"Hey Brock." Ash said happily. "Richie said you wanted to see me?"

"Yep. I have something for you."

Ash saw that Brock had his hands behind his back.

"Now close your eyes." he instructed.

Ash did what he said and closed his eyes. He then felt Brock grab his arm and expose his hand. He then placed something in his hand.

"Okay, you can open them."

When he opened his eyes he saw that Brock put a small box in his hand. Ash immediately turned bright read and let out a nervous laugh. What in the world was in this box?

"Go ahead. Open it.

Nervously he began opening it slowly and was even become worried to what was inside. When he finally opened it, he saw a tiny gold bracelet with a gold plate on it.

"Brock… what is this?"

"It's a bracelet that my mom gave to me right after I was born. I've kept it with me always once I grew out of it. Now, I want to give it to you."

"Oh… Brock…"

"There's something engraved on the plate. Why don't you read it?"

Ash pulled out the bracelet from the box carefully.

"_Here, we celebrate a brand new life…_" he read from the bracelet. "_May this life blossom and spread its wisdom and beauty throughout the world…_"

He then looked at Brock's face.

"Brock… I… I love it…" he said as tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Hey don't cry."

"I can't help it… It's just so beautiful. Thank you… Thank you so much…"

Ash then went into Brock's arms and hugged him tightly. Then he got the feeling again. The warm, welcoming feeling that Brock always gave him. As he rested his head on his chest, he noticed that Brock smelled really good. At this point, he never wanted to let Brock go.

"Thank you for accepting it…" Brock said.

All of a sudden, Ash's lust for Brock took over his senses. He wanted Brock to love him. Not just in a friendly way but in a different way. Before he knew it, he grabbed Brock's head and pulled his face towards his. Ash then pressed is lips against his. Brock went into shock and gently pulled away.

"Uh-Ash! What are you doing?"

Ash came back to his senses. He was horrified by what he just did.

"Oh my god…" he said as he put his hands on the sides of his face. "Brock, I'm so sorry! I-I don't know what came over me! Uh… I'm so embarrassed."

Feeling that he just ruined his relationship with Brock, Ash made an attempt to dash for the kitchen door.

"Ash, wait!" Brock said.

As Ash struggled to open the heavy kitchen door, Brock grabbed him by the arm and made him face him.

"Please don't look at me…" Ash murmured.

"Ash, it's okay…"

"No… it's not okay. I just betrayed Richie… the one who I love…"

"Ash, it was nothing more than a slip. It happens once in a while. Look, you still love Richie, right."

"Of course I do…" he said while trying to choke back his tears.

"Then that's all that matters. This doesn't mean that you have to give Richie up."

"What about you? You're probably never going to look at me the same way again… Face it, I ruined our friendship…"

"No… Our friendships still the same. You kissed Misty once and you're still friends with her, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Well why can't it be the same for us?"

Ash then looked up at Brock's face.

"Look, why don't we forget this ever happened. We'll never bring it up again. Would that make you feel a little better?"

"A little…"

Brock put a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. Really. Besides, there are other, more important things that you need to be thinking about right now."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

"Now, why don't go find Richie? Tell him how much you love him."

"Okay I will. Thanks Brock. Thanks for everything."

"No problem."

After Ash left, Brock sat down in one of the chairs and let out a loud sigh.

"What a day…"

* * *

When Ash looked for Richie, he saw him still out on the patio where he had left him a short while ago. He rejoined him.

"Hey Richie…"

"Huh? Oh you're back."

"What are you still doing out here?"

"Uh, no reason. So what did Brock have to tell you?"

Ash took out the tiny bracelet from his pocket and presented it to Richie.

"It was the bracelet Brock wore as a newborn. He wanted me to have it for Brooke. Wasn't that the kindest thing?"

"Yeah… It was…"

"Is something wrong? You don't seem like yourself."

He didn't want to tell Ash he was feeling a little nervous after the talk with Gary. So he tried to play it off.

"Nothings wrong. I'm just feeling a little tired…"

"Richie…" he said as he took hold of his hand. "You know I love you right?"

"Of course I do."

"I'm becoming more excited everyday. Soon, Brooke will be in our lives."

"That's right."

"And I can't think of anyone who I'd like to see raise her by my side than you. I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Yeah… Me too."

Ash to both of Richie's hands and placed them on his stomach. Richie could feel the movements of his daughter through Ash's skin. He shivered a bit knowing that she would be born in a matter of weeks. Then Ash wrapped Richie in a hug.

"This was a great party. I'm really happy that I went."

"I'm glad you liked it."

The couple then gazed at the beautiful stars above. Ash rested his head on Richie's shoulder. Right now was one of the most romantic times in his life. However, Richie wasn't thinking about romance right now. He was thinking about becoming a new father without the support of his parents. How was he to become a good father when his own was such a poor example?

* * *

Well Brock summarized this chapter very well. "What a day". Review plz. 


	19. It's Time

What? A new chapter already? Well truthfully I've been working on this chapter since chapter 5 XD. I just touched it up a bit this morning.

As you can probably guess from the title, Ash goes into labor! SQUEE!! But huh, where did Richie go?

**

* * *

**

**It's Time**

2 weeks later…

Dr. Carter predicted that Ash would go into labor sometime this week. Everyone was made sure that they were ready for what ever was going to happen. All except Richie.

Richie had woken up early this particular morning. He had spent the entire night tossing and turning in his sleeping bag and had gone to sleep only an hour ago. But despite being up for over twenty four hours straight he still couldn't sleep. Realizing that Ash's due date was quickly approaching, he had been extremely nervous the entire week. Richie was very scared about becoming a new father. He hadn't said anything to Ash or the other because he feared that they wouldn't understand.

Despite all of the noise Richie made by turning all night, Ash managed to sleep through it all. He's been having less and less energy the closer he came to the due date and had been dog tired. Richie stood up from the sleeping bag and walked over to Ash's bedside. Ash was still sound asleep and was even slightly snoring. Richie quietly giggled a little at how adorable Ash looked while he was sleeping. He always had this slight innocence about him when he did. Richie quietly pulled up a chair next to Ash and sat down. Then he began to gently stroke his head and started to whisper something to him.

"My sweet Ash Ketchum…" he whispered gently. "I love you so much but I still can't tell you what's bothering me. You see…I'm terrified of what's about to happen to us…"

Richie stopped for a moment and looked away from Ash realizing that tears were forming in his eyes.

"I know we have to both be strong about this… But…I guess I'm not as strong as you are… You have your family and friends supporting you through and through but I… don't have anyone… You may not know it but you're one of the luckiest people in the world."

During Richie's emotional plea, Ash was still fast asleep and was completely unaware of what he was saying. But that's how Richie wanted it. Then he lowered his head and gave Ash a small kiss on his forehead.

"Please forgive me my love, but… I need to be alone for a while. I need to clear my head of all this mess. I want to be the best I can be for you and Brooke. But don't worry, I will return in time for the birth."

Then Richie, who had tears running down his face, turned and placed his hand on Ash's stomach in hopes that his daughter could feel his warmth.

"And my darling Brooke… I'll do my best to take care of you once you are here." he said while sniffing up his tears. And I'll make sure that you and you're mommy have the best life possible."

He then turned away from the bed and gathered up his belongings quietly in the dim light of the early morning. Then he walked over to the basket where Sparky and Pikachu were sleeping and woke up his pokémon be gently shaking him.

"Pi…pika." said a surprised Sparky, not understanding what was going on.

"Shh…" Richie said as he put his finger to his lips. "Try not to wake anyone. We're gonna leave for a little while.

"Pika…?" Sparky replied curiously. Not even he knew that Richie had been worrying this entire time. But he knew his trainer was upset. He could tell that Richie had been crying. Richie turned around and put his cap on and picked up his backpack.

"Come on Sparky…" he whispered. Despite not knowing why they were leaving or where they were going, Sparky obeyed his trainer and followed him.

After Sparky went out the door, Richie looked back at a heavily pregnant Ash and said his farewell.

"Good bye Ash… Good bye Brooke… I love you both…" he said as his voice quivered as he started crying again. He then quietly shut the door behind him.

Richie and Sparky quietly stepped out of the room and tip toed through the living room where Brock was sleeping on the couch trying hard not to wake him. He knew if he saw him trying to leave, then he'd probably end up with a black eye. But he and Sparky successfully made it out of the house with out disturbing anyone. Once outside, Richie looked back at the house before he started to walk down the path in front of the Ketchum home. Sparky was still confused to why they were leaving but he felt that there must be a good reason. So he continued to follow his trainer no matter where they might be heading.

* * *

A few more hours had passed by before Ash finally awoke. He immediately caught the aroma of Brock's delicious cooking downstairs. But being that he was still sore in some places, Ash slowly got up from his bed. He stretched a bit before he started to talk to Richie.

"Hey Richie, do you smell that?" he happily asked. "Smells pretty good huh?"

Ash looked down to where Richie was before he went to sleep but realized that he wasn't there.

"Uh… Richie?" he said as he looked around his bed. He looked at the basket where their Pikachu had been sleeping but saw that Sparky was missing as well. He bent down and woke up Pikachu, who stretched out it small body and yawned. "Hey Pikachu, do you know what happened to Richie and Sparky?" Pikachu then looked around and didn't see the two of them anywhere either.

"Pi… Pi… Pika." he said as he shook his head.

Ash then noticed that Richie's backpack was gone as well. Ash then started to wonder where he could have gone. But Ash quickly perked up realizing that the others probably knew where he went.

Once he reached the kitchen, he saw Brock near the stove in an apron with a skillet full of eggs. His mother was also helping make breakfast. May and Max were already seated at the kitchen table. But there was no sign of Richie.

"Morning honey!" said his mother. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah I slept alright."

"Up for some scrambled eggs?" asked Brock.

"Sure! They smell great!" The smell of the eggs almost made Ash forget that he didn't know where Richie was. "Uh, say do you guys know where Richie went?"

The group began to look at one another with confusion.

"Wasn't he in your room with you?" asked Max.

"No… I woke up and he wasn't there. I thought that he might have woke up early and went for a walk or something."

"Well we haven't seen him all morning." said May.

Ash's heart immediately jumped up into his throat. He now feared that Richie had left him. This scared him so much that he almost fell over.

"Uh, whoa!" Brock shouted as he jumped over to catch Ash.

"Are you alright?" his mother asked in great concern.

"He's… gone… I think he left me…"

"Now hold on." Brock said. "It could be just like you said. He probably went out for a walk."

"But all his things are gone, and so is Sparky…" he said as he began to cry.

"Oh Ash, please don't be upset." his mother assured. "I'm sure he wouldn't do that to you. Especially in your delicate condition."

"But why…? Why wouldn't he say anything? Why would he just leave like this?"

"Are you sure he didn't tell you anything before he left?" asked Max.

"Yes I'm sure! I think I would remember something like that!"

"Pika…" said a worried Pikachu.

"Here, why don't you have some breakfast?" said Brock trying to change the subject. "You need to keep your strength up."

"No thank you… I don't have much of an appetite anymore… I just wanna go lie down."

Delia held on to her pregnant son's arm and walked him over to the sofa. Mr. Mime and Pikachu followed close behind ready to help out if they needed to. As she was trying to make Ash comfortable, Brock was muttering something in the kitchen.

"Dammit Richie." he said while heavily scrubbing the dishes. "Why do you have to do this to him now?"

May and Max didn't say anything. They just helped Brock clean up. But still the two of them were just as upset as he was.

* * *

Far away from Ash's home, Richie and Sparky were sitting on a beautiful grassy knoll surrounded by flowers. During this time, Richie had been explaining how he had been feeling for the past few weeks. His emotions about the whole matter were a complete shock to Sparky. He thought Richie was ready for the events that were to come. And he also never seemed to break a sweat about anything. The two were just staring up at the sky watching some Pidgey fly by.

"Ash is probably awake by now. Brock usually starts cooking around this time and that always seems to wake him up." he said with a smile.

"Pikaa…" Sparky said with concern. He was worried for both Richie and Ash.

"I know I should probably head back but…I just don't know if I can show my face around there right now…"

"Pikaa, pika…" said the Pikachu as he put his paw on his trainer's knee.

Just then Richie stood up and picked up his backpack. Sparky perked his ears up a little thinking that Richie was ready to head back.

"I think I need to walk a little while longer. Come on."

"Pikaa…" sighed Sparky in disappointment.

* * *

Back towards the Ketchum residence Delia along with Brock, May, and Mr. Mime began to look for Richie around the town. Inside the house, Ash was still sulking on the couch as Max _tried_ to cheer him up.

"Maybe he got abducted by aliens or something." he suggested.

"Max, I thought you were supposed to make me feel better." Ash said with dull tone.

"Eh… I guess that's not the most encouraging thing to say… Sorry."

"Though that better be the reason why he left so suddenly or else I'm going give him a good right hook to the jaw."

But then he started to think…

"_Still… there's this part of me that is certain that you're going to come back to me. It's almost as if you told me that yourself."_

"_I'm glad I'm not Richie right now." _Max thought to himself.

A few seconds later Ash was hit with an overwhelming pain in his abdomen.

"OW!!" he shouted as clutched on to his stomach. However the pain quickly subsided.

"Pika-pi!" yelled Pikachu.

"Ash! What's wrong?" asked Max.

"I… I don't know… It was AHH!" he screamed as the pain returned.

"Pika-pi…"

"Uh-oh… I… I think I'm in labor… Brooke's comin…Ahhh!!!"

"Wha? You mean right_ now_?" Max said as he started to panic.

"Oww!!" Ash continued to cry out.

"Oh man, what'll we do, what'll we do, _what'll we do!?_" said Max as he started to pace around the room.

"Max…" Ash said trying to get Max's attention. But to no avail. He was still freaking out. Ash was becoming extremely agitated and finally yelled out. "God dammit Max! Will you listen to me! Uh!"

"Uh huh?"

"Listen carefully… uh!" he said in between contractions. "I need you to call Professor Oak. Tell him what's happening. Ah!"

"Okay…" Max said as he ran to the phone.

Meanwhile, Ash began to breathe heavily in hopes that it would ease the pain. Pikachu continued to watch him.

"Pika-pi…"

"It'll be alright Pikachu…" he tried to assure Pikachu. "I hope…AH!!" As he continued to breathe he remembered that Richie was still missing. _"Richie…where are you?"_ he thought. _"I need you…"_

A few seconds later, Max returned to the room.

"Okay, I told Professor Oak everything. He said Tracey will be here soon to take you up to the lab."

"Uh… good…" he sighed.

"Do you need anything?"

"Not really… It's just uh! Do you think you could hold my hand? Please?" he asked between breaths.

"Sure."

* * *

Meanwhile, Richie was now walking along the rocky paths on the outskirts of Pallet Town. He was completely oblivious of what was happening with Ash. Richie took a break on the rocks and began to think about his situation.

"Maybe I shouldn't have left without saying anything. I probably have him worried. I need to think things out before I do them I guess."

"Pika pika." said Sparky.

"But my mind is still clogged up. Man… I don't know what to do…" he said as he buried his face in his hands.

"Pika…"

"I really hope Ash doesn't try to kill me when I get back. Though I really can't blame him."

* * *

"Where the heck is he?" Brock said has he, Delia, May, and Mr. Mime returned to the house after a long search for Richie.

"What if he really did leave town?" asked May.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that." said Delia as she began to open the door to the house. "He'll be back soon, you'll see."

"Mime mime." agreed Mr. Mime.

As she opened the door, Delia and the others were met with a loud scream. Then she realized that the scream came from Ash.

"ASH!?" they all said as they ran inside.

Once they got into the living room they saw Ash scrunched up in a fetal position on the couch. Max was knelt down by the couch holding on to Ash's hand.

"Uh guys!" Max said sounding happy.

"Ash! Are you okay?" his mother asked.

"Mom… It's time… Ow!"

"It is!?" said Brock.

"We already called Professor Oak. Tracey should be here any second now." Max explained.

"That's good. Thank you Max." said Delia as she started to hold Ash's hand. She could tell Ash was in a lot of pain by how hard he was squeezing her hand.

"Ouch!!" he screamed.

"I know you're in a lot of pain right now Ash, but just take in deep breaths and try to relax. Everything will be okay."

Just then Tracey walked in the front door ready to take them up to the lab.

"Hey guys!" he said. "Got here as fast as I could. So are you ready to go Ash?"

"Ohh…" he moaned.

"Uh he means 'yes'." said Delia.

After that, Delia and Brock helped Ash up and into the back of the van. Pikachu hopped in with them. May and Max also managed to fit themselves in there as well. After everything was in place, Tracey drove off to the professor's lab.

Upon arrival, Misty and Gary were already outside waiting for them with a wheel chair. Once Tracey parked the van, he got out an opened up the back door. Delia and Brock, who each had a hold of one of Ash's arms, helped him out. Gary then moved the wheel chair over and the two placed Ash in it.

"Are you alright Ash?" Misty asked.

"Well… I've been better…" he said with a look of pain in his face.

"Let's get you inside." Gary suggested. "Grandpa has everything ready for you and he already called your doctor."

"See Ash, everything's gonna be fine." assured Brock.

"Pikachu…" said Pikachu as he followed right by the wheel chair.

As they rolled down the corridor of the laboratory, Professor Oak appeared from the room where Ash was to give birth.

"Ah, there you are." he said. "I have your bed all ready for you Ash."

"Th-thank you…uh Professor." he said during a contraction.

Then Ash was helped out of the wheel chair and was given some hospital-like garbs to put on. After he was dressed, he lied down on the bed. Then Professor Oak came in and put an IV in his arm. Once he was settled, Brock, Pikachu, and his mother came in to see him.

"Now just try to hold tight until Dr. Carter gets here."

"Sure…"

The professor then stepped out side and saw Tracey, Misty, and Gary making conversation with May and Max.

"So, where's the father-to-be?" Gary asked since he didn't see Richie anywhere.

"Hey yeah, I was wondering the same thing." said Misty.

"Well… we don't know." May responded.

"Don't know?" Tracey questioned. Professor Oak was also listening in.

"Ash woke up this morning and he was gone and so were his things."

"Wha…? You've gotta be kidding me!" said Misty. "He decided to take off now?! The nerve!"

"Sounds like Richie may have not of been as cool-headed about this as we thought." the professor suggested.

"Hm, I knew it." Gary smirked.

"That coward!" Misty said angrily. "How can he even think of leaving poor Ash all alone in raising this baby?"

"Now just a minute Misty." said Professor Oak. "I don't think that's the case here. I think he might have just needed some time to clear out his head about this. He's probably frightened. Yes I know Ash is the one having the baby but this is hard for him as well. But I'm pretty sure he didn't run away because that boy has a heart of gold. He wouldn't do that to someone he loves."

"Hmm… you may have a point there…" she reluctantly agreed.

"You'll see; he'll come back."

"Yes but… will he come back in time?" May asked.

Back inside the room, Ash's contractions only got heavier and closer together causing him to be in an extreme amount of pain.

"Ahhh!" he screamed.

"You're doing great Ash." his mother encouraged while gripping his hand.

"OOW! I don't think I can do this!" he whined while breathing.

"Pika!" said Pikachu trying to encourage Ash.

"Yes you can!" said Brock. "You've come a long way from nine months ago. And you're stronger now then you've ever been. You can't give up." he said while picking up and holding Ash's other hand. "I know you can do this…"

Ash looked up into Brock's eyes and realized that he was right. He had come a long way in the past nine months. And there was no way he'd give up.

"Th-Thank you Brock. Ah! For being there for me through all HA-ard times. I don't think I've could've made it this far without you… UH!"

"It's no problem. Though I'm pretty sure you could have faired with out me."

"Remember our first battle…?"

"How can I forget? It was also the day we first met."

"I know THA-t we didn't start out as friends. I thought you were cold-hearted and ruthless train-ER! But once I saw how you took care of your brothers and sisters, I knew I was wrong… You were truly a kind hearted person…"

"I actually thought you were a wannabe trainer who knew nothing about Pokémon. But the second time you fought me, you proved that you've learned a lot from the last battle. And as time went on, you've become wiser every passing minute."

"Pikachu…" agreed Pikachu.

"Well… I try to…AAAHH!" he yelled when another contraction struck. During his shriek, Dr. Carter entered the room.

"Well by the sound of that, I'd say you're in labor." he joked.

"Dr. Carter!" said Delia happily. "Thank goodness you're finally here."

"So, how's our mommy-to-be doing?" he asked Ash.

"Not so good…" he weakly responded. "I'm in a lot of pain… OW!"

"I can imagine that. I'll try to do something about it in a moment but first, can you spread your legs open for me?"

"Uh… sure…" he complied as he slowly opened his legs. Dr. Carter then kneeled down and examined.

"Let's see here… Well you're only 2 centimeters dilated. So you still have a ways to go."

"What does that mean…?"

"He's talking about the opening the baby needs to come out of. You need to be 10 centimeters dilated in order to deliver." explained Brock.

"That's absolutely right Brock." Dr. Carter commended.

"So how long will it take? UH!" Ash asked.

"It all depends… It could take one or two or three hours. Maybe even longer."

"What?! You men I AHH have to sit through his pain for THAT long!"

"Well hopefully I can do something about that. An epidural might help ease the pain."

"REALLY!" he said excitedly. "Well than give it to me!"

"Alright then." said the doctor as he looked through his bag.

"Ash, are you sure you want that?" his mother asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well it's just…" Brock had begun to say. But he was cut short when Dr. Carter pulled out a large needle from the bag. It was the biggest one Ash had ever seen.

"Wha-wha-what's THAT for?" he asked in a panic.

"Well I need to inject the medicine into you're lower back. That way you'll be numb from the waist down." the doctor explained.

"Inject? Isn't there another way?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Ash has a tremendous fear of needles." said his mother.

"Oh I see. Well Ash I can try to do it as easy as a possibly can. And I guarantee that it won't hurt as much as your contractions do."

"I guess that is a point… Okay, I'll do it…"

"Pika-pi."

With that, Ash sat up from his bed and slumped into the arms of Brock. Brock continued to rub his back trying to calm him down.

"Just hold on." he said gently. "It'll all be over in a second."

As Ash saw the doctor getting ready to inject the epidural, he turned to Brock and shut his eyes tightly. Once the needle went in he twitched a little from the mild sharp pain that hit his spine. It took about a minute for it to be all over.

"Okay, you're done." said Dr. Carter while pulling the needle out. "It may take a few minutes to take effect so try to hang in there, okay?"

"Sure… Thanks Doctor."

"Now why don't you lie down and relax while I check on your baby."

"Um… okay."

With that Ash lied back down on his hospital bed and tried to ease up. Dr. Carter then lifted up Ash's hospital garbs so that he could see his stomach. Then he took the probe from the sonogram that he had brought over to Professor Oak's some time ago and he began to search for Brooke. Like he suspected, Brooke had dropped down in Ash's abdomen. A typical maneuver when it's time for the baby to be born.

"Well she seems to be in the right position." the doctor said. "She's heading out head first so that's a very good sign. Though, I'll have to keep an eye on her because she can always move."

"What happens if she turns the other way?" asked Ash.

"If that happens, then she'll be what we call 'breach'. It's very dangerous for her to be born that way and if we can't get her out then will have to perform a C-section."

"Isn't that the thing when you cut me open?"

"Well… yes."

"Ohh…" Ash groaned. "Please Brooke… Please stay where you are."

* * *

Richie hurry! You need to be there for Ash!!!! Reviews please. 


	20. Where are You?

OMG Chap 20!!! XD Read and Review

* * *

**Where are You?**

Inside Oak's living room, all of Ash's friends were waiting to hear the condition of their friend. Ash's long time rival, Gary, was sitting in the arm chair at the end of the coffee table. His pokémon coordinating buddy, May, was sitting on the couch to the left of the coffee table with her younger brother Max. And his good friends, Misty and Tracey, were sitting on the couch to the right. Tracey had his arms wrapped around Misty while she rested her head on his shoulder. Max decided to get up and look out the window that had a great view of Professor Oak's ranch. As he looked out, he noticed that all of Ash's pokémon were in a little group together. It seemed that they knew what Ash was going through and they were very concerned.

"Look at that." said Max. "Seems they're all worried about Ash just like we are."

"Yeah." Tracey agreed. "Pokémon have an ability to know what their trainers are going through even without seeing it. They realize Ash is in a lot of pain right now, physically and mentally, and that's why they're upset."

"Well… I know how they feel." May said. "Poor Ash…"

Just then, Professor Oak entered the room.

"Well you all look a little worried." he said.

"Uh- Professor Oak!" they all said except Gary.

"How's Ash?" May asked.

"Is he okay?" Misty asked.

"He's doing quite well actually. He was given a pain relieving drug and is more comfortable than before."

"Thank goodness…" said Misty. "It's nice to know that he's not in so much pain anymore.

"Well hopefully it will hold him off until it's time for the delivery. I take it there hasn't been any sign of Richie."

"Nope…" said Tracey. "Not that we know of."

"Well don't give up hope on him just yet. I'm sure he'll be back in time."

"We sure hope so." said May.

* * *

"You holding up okay Ash?" Brock asked. 

"Oh yeah… I feel wonderful…" he said happily as the drugs took effect on him.

"Is the pain all gone?" asked his mother.

"Yep…"

"I think Ash should take this time to get some rest." Dr. Carter suggested. "It's still going to be a while before you're fully dilated."

"What do you think Ash?" Brock said. "You wanna take a nap?"

"A nap sounds… OOOOhhhwwwaaa… good right about now." he said during a yawn.

No sooner than it was suggested, Ash fell asleep. A few minutes later Professor Oak came to check up on them and also brought Delia and Brock some tea.

"Oh, I see he's fallen asleep." Oak said quietly.

"Yeah…" Delia said as she brushed her son's hair out of his face. "It's really taking a lot out of him already. I hope he's going to be able to do it."

"No need to worry Delia. Ash has a powerful will. If anyone can do it, it's him."

"Any sign of Richie yet?"

"I'm afraid not…"

"We even left a message on his cell phone, but it was turned off." Brock said.

"I can't believe he would do this… Things would be a lot better if he was here."

* * *

Meanwhile, Richie had set up camp near some trees. He then pulled out a snack for him and Sparky to munch on. 

"You hungry Sparky?"

"Pikaa…"

"What's the matter?"

"Pikaa…pi. Pikaachuu…"

"I get it… You're saying I should go back and be with Ash."

"Chu."

"I know… but. We'll stay out here just for tonight and then we'll go back in the morning."

"Pika…" he said with disappointment.

"Hey, I know. I'll just call them right now and tell them what I'm doing."

He then reached for the cell phone in his backpack. But then he realized something.

"Oh no… I forgot to charge the battery…"

"Pikaa…"

"And I can't use you to charge it because I left the AC charger at Ash's house. Shoot…"

* * *

7 hours later… 

Back at Professor Oak's lab, all of Ash's friends were on the look out to see if Richie was coming. That is, all except Gary. Irritated that he was left alone in the living room, he went out to the front to join Ash's other friends.

"I'm telling you, he's not coming back." Gary said sounding superior. "He's probably long gone by now."

"I just can't believe that." Tracey said. "Richie doesn't seem like the person who would do that."

"But he does have a habit of keeping secrets from us." said Misty.

"I guess he couldn't deal with what I told him that night at the baby shower." said Gary.

Then all of Ash's friends turned towards him.

"What exactly did you tell him, Gary?" Misty asked.

"What he should know. Taking care of a baby is serious work. I mean, he basically has to throw his life away."

"You told him in that manner? Gary, having a baby doesn't mean throwing your life away. It's to add a very important part to your life that's supposed to make you into a stronger person." Tracey explained.

"So it's your fault Richie ran away!?" Misty screamed. "You idiot! Did it ever occur to you that Ash needs him!?"

"Don't blame me! If he really was ready to be a dad than he wouldn't of runaway just because of something I said now would he?"

"Gary does have a point there." May said. "I think another factor might be that Richie doesn't have his parents' support in him becoming a father."

"His parents?"

"Bet you didn't know that, did you Gary." Misty said.

"Richie wouldn't want to do to his own child what his father did to him." Tracey said. "Which is why I'm positive he's coming back."

"You know, I've been thinking." Max said. "What if Richie didn't answer his cell phone because the battery went dead? I mean maybe one of us should go back to the house and see if he went back there."

"You're right Max." said May. "One of us should go back there."

"I suggest Gary go back." Misty said.

"Why me?"

"Because this is partially your fault. Come on, just think how happy Ash will be with you when he knows that you went back to look for Richie."

"Hm… Alright fine… But I'm only waiting an hour and that's it."

With that, Gary walk down the trail away from the Oak mansion and made his way towards Ash's home.

* * *

Inside the lab, the epidural began to wear off on Ash and he started to feel the pain of his contractions again. 

"Ahh…"

"Pika-pi…?" said his concerned Pikachu.

He then started his breathing exercises.

"Ash, are you okay?" his mother asked.

"Aaaaaaahhh! Ha…"

"Please, just hang in there a little longer. You're going to be fine." she assured.

"I want Richie here…" he pouted.

"I know you do. But unfortunately we don't know where he is."

"Owww!"

"Is there anything else I can get you? Please tell me."

"Ighrsss…" he said very lowly.

"Excuse me?"

"ICE! I want ice!" he said with aggravation.

"Okay, you've got it."

Brock was standing in the doorway as he was coming back from the rest room when Delia was about to leave.

"I'm going to get some ice for him. Could you just stay with him for a sec?

"Sure. No problem."

He then sat next to Ash.

"You holding up okay?" he asked.

"No… This hurts like hell!"

"I'm sure it does. But you really shouldn't yell at your mother."

"I know…"

Ash then gripped the sheets that covered him after another contraction hit him. Brock held his hand for support.

"Ha…ha…ha…" Ash panted.

"Just hang in there Ash. You're doing great."

"Pika-pi!" encouraged Pikachu.

"AHH! Oh when Richie gets here I'm going to kill him!"

"Just relax… Try not to think of him right now."

"It's hard not to… UH!!"

"I know but you need to focus. Concentrate on having this baby."

Ash stared at Brock knowing he was right. He then continued with his breathing exercises. Just then, Ash's mother returned with the ice he wanted. She kept it in a plastic bag.

"Here you go sweetie." she said.

His mother placed it on his pillow and Ash rested his head on the ice bag. A few seconds later, Dr. Carter entered the room to check on Ash.

"Ash, are you alright?" he asked.

But Ash just shook his head.

"He's in a lot of pain again." his mother said.

"I see. Unfortunately I can't give you another epidural. It wouldn't be safe. I'm afraid you're on your own now."

"Oh…" Ash groaned.

"But the good news is I think you should be ready to deliver soon. Ash, may I have a look?"

"Okay…"

He turned on his back and then spread his legs open. Dr. Carter flipped up the covers leaving Ash's legs exposed.

"Hm, you seem to be eight centimeters dilated. You're almost there."

"Oh, that's wonderful." his mother said.

"Ow…"

"You know Ash, sitting up might help the pain ease a little." Dr. Carter suggested.

"Really?"

"I know it helped me."

Both Brock and Delia helped Ash sit up from his position. Dr. Carter then said that he should rest his body on this mother's. Ash leaned forward as his mother embraced him. His head was resting on her right shoulder. Brock then held the ice bag on Ash's neck. He had his arms tightly around his mother. In reaction to hearing his whimpers of pain, she hushed comfortingly just as she did when he was a child. Brock rubbed Ash's back in support. Pikachu put one of his paws on Ash's thigh.

"Pika-pi…"

"Mom…?" Ash murmured as his face was buried in her blouse.

"Yes…?"

"I'm sorry for yelling earlier… I didn't mean it…"

"I know you didn't." she said as she smiled. "I understand what you're going through… I can't say I didn't scream at people when I was having you."

"I love you Mom…"

"I love you too."

She then kissed him on his cheek.

* * *

Richie had gone down to a local river in order to fill up a couple of water bottles. When he went to return to his campsite, he needed to cross back over a road. As he was about to make it to the other side, he was blinded by head lights by a slowly approaching car. Richie moved to where it was safe to let the car pass. However the car stopped next to him. He then realized that it was a limousine. It didn't take him long to recognize the limousine and went into a state of shock. The back door then opened and his mother stepped out. 

"Richard…?" his mother said.

"M-Mom…? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I just had to see you again. We need to talk…"

"Is Dad here…?" he said in a frightened tone.

"No… He doesn't even know I came here. He thinks I'm on set."

"You mean… you came without telling him?"

She then nodded. She and Richie sat down on a nearby rock.

"Richard… The day you were born was the happiest day of my life. You were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and the love of my life. Over the years I felt I wasn't spending enough time with you so I thought I could make it up to you by buying lavish things for you. But, I learned that's you needed more than material things to make you happy. That's why when you brought up the subject of going on a Pokémon journey; I thought it would be a wonderful idea. I admit I was a bit scared up you leaving home and traveling by yourself but Grandpa explained to me that everything would be fine. Though, he did understand my worry because he felt the same way when I went on a Pokémon journey.

"You went on a Pokémon journey? You never told me that."

"Well, your father didn't like me mentioning Pokémon around him so I just kept it a secret. I was once a Pokémon coordinator. But then I got into an acting school and the rest is history.

"Why did Dad hate Pokémon so much?"

"I know he doesn't want you to know that but I feel you have a right to. When he was a boy, he watched his best friend be mauled by Houndoom. He felt so helpless not being able to do anything. Sadly, his friend died a few days later."

"That's… terrible."

"He didn't want you to get into Pokémon because he was afraid for your safety. Being the mighty person that he is, he didn't want you to see him as soft."

"I wouldn't have had a problem with that."

"But he would have."

"Is there a reason for him hating gay people too?"

"That's just how he was raised."

She then put her hand on her son's lap.

"Richard… I just wanted to say… how sorry I am for what happened that day. There hasn't been a day that's gone by that I felt I did the right thing. Which is why I had to come back here. I want to be there for you like I should be."

"You will?"

"If you want me to…"

"Mom…" he said as his eyes welled up with tears.

Mother and son then embraced each other in a hug.

"You don't know how badly I needed to here that… I'll I ever wanted was your support… But what about Dad? What if he finds out?"

"We'll worry about him later. Right now you have a baby on the way that you need to be there for."

"You're right…"

"What in the world are you doing out here anyway?"

"You see… I got nervous about becoming a father and decided to spend sometime by myself. Sparky is still in the woods waiting for me. I was planning on camping out."

"Richard, you need to be there for your boyfriend. You should go back to him immediately. It's been a while since I last saw him and I can imagine that he should be due any day now."

"Yeah, he is. I know I should go back but I was just so scared…"

"Would having me there make you feel better?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then I'll come with you."

"Thanks Mom…" he said while wiping the tears off his face. "Thank you so much."

Richie quickly went back to the forest in order to retrieve Sparky and his things. He then jumped in the limo with his mother and they headed toward Ash's house.

* * *

Back at the lab, Dr. Carter checked on Ash's dilation again to see if he was ready. 

"Alright Ash, you are fully dilated now. We can now begin the birth."

"Just think." Brock said to Ash. "Soon, Brooke will be here."

Ash did smile a little but he wasn't all that happy. Dr. Carter left in order to inform Professor Oak and all of Ash's friends. Oak would be assisting Carter during the delivery. Delia took this time to talk to her son.

"What's wrong honey? Are you nervous?"

"Yeah. Very. Also…"

Ash covered his face with his hand as he began to cry.

"You want Richie here."

He nodded in response.

"I'm so sorry that we couldn't find him for you. But we can't wait for him any longer."

"How could he do this to me…?" Ash asked himself. "Was it because of that night with Gary…? He said he understood."

"What are you talking about?"

* * *

When Richie and his mother reached Ash's home, they found the place dark and seemingly abandoned. Richie knocked on the door none the less but no one would answer. 

"That's so weird…" he said. "Where is everybody…?"

"Hasn't it dawned on you?" said a voice.

Richie and his mother turned in the direction of the voice and saw Gary appeared from the side of the house.

"Gary…?"

"Pikaachu." said Sparky.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Oh my God, you really are clueless…" Gary said as he slapped his forhead. "A few hours after you decided to take a vacation, Ash went into labor."

"W-w-what!? Oh my God! How can I be so stupid!?" he said as he held his head.

"Richard, please calm down." his mother said.

As Richie continued to freak out, Gary approached him and slapped him in the face hard to get him to come to his senses. Richie held a hand to his face as he looked at Gary.

"You're not too late." Gary said. "My grandfather just called and told me that Ash is ready to give birth. You still have time. You should go to him. He needs you more than anyone."

"… You're absolutely right… This isn't about me… Ash is the one who needs the support."

His mother then smiled. She was so proud of her son right now.

"Thank you, Gary. For making me see that."

Afterwards, they all jumped in the limousine and headed off to Professor Oak's lab at full speed.

* * *

Well ShadowYinYang, you were right about Richie's mom. XD 

Ha Richie got bitch slapped. I feel bad for him but you know he had it coming.

Review please.


	21. Along Came Brooke

All right! Here it is! Chapter 21!! Ash gives birth!!!! Sorry for the long wait. Explanations are left on my profile. Enjoy! R&R please.

* * *

**Along Came Brooke**

Ash, with the help of all those around him, was preparing to bring Brooke into this world. Finally after a wait of nine long months, Ash would soon see his daughter for the first time.

"Alright Ash, we're almost ready." Dr. Carter said. "All I have to do is give you the instructions."

"Okay…"

"When I tell you to push, I want you to bear all your weight near your pelvis. Hold it for ten seconds and then take a break. Then wait until I tell you to do it again. Do you understand?"

"I think so…"

Everyone got into their positions and prepared for the birthing process. Professor Oak took a second and thought to himself:

"_I can't believe Richie hasn't come yet? I thought for sure he'd be here by now."_

Oak got rid of the thought and began to focus on what was happening now.

"Okay then Ash, are you ready?" the doctor asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay then, PUSH!"

Ash then pushed with all his might making sure that all his weight was against his pelvic area. His mother was the one counting down the seconds. Deeper into the push, Ash began to feel an intense pain.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed.

"Keep going Ash. You're doing great." Brock said while squeezing his hand.

After his mother reached ten seconds, Ash took a break and let out a sigh of relief.

"Great job, honey." his mother said.

"Ohhh…"

"Good one Ash." the doctor said. "Do you think you can do another one?"

"I… I think so…"

Okay then, push!"

* * *

Outside, the limo pulled up next to the lab. It didn't even come to a full stop before Richie jumped out and headed towards the front door.

"Richard, slow down." his mother insisted. But her words were only half heard.

He ran down the front hall and then into the living room where all of Ash's friends were waiting.

"Richie!?" they all said in surprise.

"Where's Ash?" he automatically asked.

Soon, Gary and Richie's mother entered the living room.

"Excuse me, but where have you been?" Misty asked. "How could you just take off like that without saying anything?"

"It's a long story…"

"Well there's no time to tell it." May interrupted. "You should go to Ash, and quick."

"Uh-right." he said.

He took Sparky off his shoulder and put him on the floor.

"You stay here with my mom, okay?"

"Pikaa."

Richie then looked at his mother.

"Thanks Mom… For believing in me."

She smiled back in a response.

"The room is just down the main hallway. You take a left after that." said Tracey.

"Okay."

Richie left the room. At that moment, Misty nudged Gary in the arm with her elbow.

"Thanks Gary, you did good."

"Eh, what ever…"

* * *

"Ahh!!" Ash wailed from inside the room.

"Ash, try not to push until I tell you." Dr. Carter said.

"Gah! Richie, where are you!!?"

"Right here!" came a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned their heads towards the doorway and saw Richie huffing and puffing from running.

"Richie!" Delia said.

"You finally came." said Professor Oak. "Just in time too."

Though Ash was overjoyed to see Richie had made it in time, he was still very angry at him for leaving. He then gained a hostile expression on his face. Richie then approached him

"I'm so sorry for what I did." he said to Ash. "Are you all…" Richie stopped abruptly after Ash started to punch him in the arm. "Ow!"

"You JERK!!! I'm sitting here having your baby while you were out foolin' around! What the hell!?"

"Ash calm down!" Brock said as he grabbed his flailing arm. "The important thing is that he's here now."

"I'm really sorry Ash… I was just… nervous. I wasn't sure if I could be a good father. I was scared about what was going to happen in the future so I left to clear my head. I wasn't even thinking that you'd go into labor today which was stupid of me."

"Richie, if you were nervous UH, why didn't you tell me? We could have talked about it."

"I just didn't want to burden you with my problems… You had enough to worry about without my bellyaching…"

"Oh Richie…"

Ash's hostile domineer soon melted away. He then took hold of Richie's hand.

"If something is bothering you… I'd like you to tell me about it. I love you… And I can't be happy if you're not happy. So next time you have something on your mind, please tell me about it… Okay?"

"Sure…"

The two boys lovingly kissed each other for a moment until Ash was hit with another contraction.

"Ohh!!"

"I don't think this baby is going to wait any longer." the doctor said. "However with Richie now here we have too many people in the room. Aside from me, Professor Oak, or Ash, one of you has to leave."

"Really…?" Ash said.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"It's okay." Brock said. "I'll go."

"Brock no…" said Ash while holding on to Brock's arm.

"Ash, don't worry. You're going to be fine. Besides, you need your family here most of all."

"But… you are my family."

"Listen, I'll be waiting outside with all the others. And I promise that I'll be the first one to come see you after you have your baby."

"… Okay. But you better come see me right after…"

"Don't worry, I will."

"Hey Pikachu, why don't you go with Brock and say hi to everyone for me?"

"Pi… Pikachu?" he said sounding unsure.

"It'll be okay. You can come see me when Brock does."

"Pikachu…" he agreed. Pikachu then licked his trainer's face. Ash then gave him a hug back. Afterwards he jumped on Brock's shoulder.

"Good luck Ash. I know you can do it."

"Pika-pi."

"Thanks…"

With that, Brock went to wait with the others.

"Okay then." Dr. Carter said. "Are you ready to have this baby?"

"Yes…"

"Just like before, push and hold for ten seconds. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright, push!"

Ash, once again, pushed with all his might. The longer he held it, the more pain came upon him.

"Ohh…!"

"Keep going Ash. You're doing great." said Richie.

"Ah!!"

* * *

"Brock, you're back!" said Max. "Did Ash have the baby yet?"

"No, not yet Max." he replied. "But she should be here really soon."

"Pika… pi?" Pikachu perked up a bit when he saw his lover, Sparky, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Pika!"

"Pikachu!" said Sparky who was equally happy.

Pikachu then jumped off Brock's shoulder and up on the couch and nuzzled Sparky's ear.

"Aww… that's so sweet." Penelope commented. It was then that Brock noticed that Richie's mother was there as well.

"Mrs. Belmont? You decided to come."

"Yes… I came here myself. My husband thinks I'm on set. I couldn't bear the fact that I would have to be away from my baby forever. I had to be for him despite what his father thinks. I realize that when you have children you need to be there for them no matter what. And I'm sure Richard will experience the same thing once this child is born."

"This is just my opinion ma'am, but you did the right thing. Richie said the reason why he left was because he felt he didn't have support from you. But now that you're here I bet he has a lot more confidence in himself."

"I know. The guilt was just eating away at me inside thinking of Richard having to deal with this without any support from his family. Choosing to go with my husband back then wasn't the right choice. All that matters to me is supporting Richard."

* * *

Back in the delivery room, Ash was getting close to having his baby. Brooke was now crowning.

"I think I can feel the top of Brooke's head." said Dr. Carter. "She should be out any minute now."

"Oohhh…"

Richie stroked Ash's head to give him encouragement and to comfort him.

"You're almost there Ash." Richie said. "Just a little bit longer."

Dr. Carter instructed Ash to push again. He only got up to eight seconds before he let go. It was just too much pressure.

"Ahh… I don't think I can do this!" he complained.

"I know it's hard, Ash." the doctor said. "But you have to keep trying."

"But… It hurts so much…"

"I know it does. Believe me. Having my son was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I promise you, it all be worth it once you have your baby in your arms."

Ash looked at the doctor knowing he was right.

Okay… I'll push again."

"Alright then… Ready… go!"

Ash started to push again with all his might. But he only got to 5 seconds when he stopped from the pain.

"Ahh!" he cried. "Sorry… I couldn't hold it."

"It's okay. Just try again."

Ash then regained his composure and tried again. This time he pushed harder than before. It was then that he felt Brooke coming out. He screamed as the pain more then tripled. Tears of pain began to run down his face.

"Come on Ash!" Richie encourage. "You're almost there!"

"AAAHH!"

"Almost… Okay Ash, stop! Her head is out now!"

Richie and Delia peered around Ash's legs to have a look at the baby while he was taking a break.

"Ash her hair!" Richie said. "She has dark hair like you!"

But Ash was just too exhausted to speak.

"Listen carefully Ash." said the doctor. "I need you to push with everything you got. That should be enough to get her out. Can you do that for me?"

"Y… yes…" he sobbed as he got back in position.

"Okay then. Ready… push!"

Ash pushed once more with every ounce of his strength. His chin was pressed hard against his chest and he clenched his teeth. And he had a tight grip on both Richie and his mother's hands who were both cheering him on. All the while Dr. Carter was gently pulling Brooke out. Professor Oak was standing by with a blanket to put her in. Ash continued to scream at the top of his lungs. Once Brooke's arms came out she began to move much easier. After that Dr. Carter was able to easily pull her out.

"Here she is!" Dr. Carter said happily while he cut the umbilical cord. He then passed her to the professor who had the towel ready.

"How… how come she isn't crying?" Ash asked.

Soon enough, Brooke began to breathe and let out a loud cry. It was one of the most beautiful sounds that Ash and Richie had ever heard.

"She's really beautiful." Professor Oak said as he was drying her off.

"I… I want to see her." said Ash. "I want to see my baby."

Professor Oak wrapped her in a fresh blanket and handed her over to Ash.

"Oh my god…" said Ash while crying from joy. "She's more than beautiful. She's perfect." As Ash cradled Brooke in his arms she continued to cry just from the shock of being in a totally different environment. "Hi Brooke…" he said to her in a gentle voice. "I know… the two of us have been through a lot today. But everything will be okay now."

Ash's sweet talk eventually worked. Brooke calmed down and the crying ceased. Hearing the familiar voice of her mother made her feel safe.

"Brooke, I'd like you to meet your daddy and grandma… They've both been waiting for your as much as I have been."

A few tears shed from Delia's eyes as she watched Richie kneel down to have a better look.

"Hey Brooke…" Richie said softly. "It's nice to finally see you in person… Don't worry little one…"

Richie put one hand on his daughter's head and stroked gently. It was then Brooke opened her eyes, revealing that she had the same blue eyes as her father.

"Oh boys…" Delia said while wiping a tear from her face. "She's just so beautiful… The two of you created such a beautiful little girl…"

Richie cuddled close to Ash.

"You did an awesome job Ash…" Richie said. "I know this probably wasn't easy for you."

"Yeah… But having you here gave me strength to get her here…"

Dr. Carter removed the latex gloves he was wearing and stretched a little.

"Great job Ash." he said. "Now I have to call my grandfather and tell him the wonderful news. You can take care of everything here, right Professor?"

"Sure can."

The two boys lovingly kissed each other before turning to their attention back to Brooke.

"You have lots of aunts and uncles waiting to meet you outside Brooke… You're quite the popular girl around here…" Ash smiled.

Soon Brooke let out a coo and then feel asleep in Ash's arms.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, all of Ash's friends were still waiting eager to hear the news on Ash.

"Oh man, what's taking so long?" Max complained.

"Take it easy Max." said May. "It takes a while to have a baby. Mom said it took 36 hours to have you."

"Well I hope it doesn't take that long."

"I'm sure Brooke isn't as slow as you are…"

"Yeah… Hey wait a minute!"

Just then, Richie walked in the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to him.

"Well Richie…?" said Brock with anticipation.

Penelope had her hands under her chin waiting for a response.

"Brooke is here, and she and Ash are doing just fine." he said with a smile.

Everyone then broke out in cheer, shaking hands and hugging one another. Richie then went to his mother and gave her a hug.

"I'm so happy for you Richard…" she said.

"Thanks Mom…"

Richie then turned to Brock.

"Ash specifically told me to bring you in first. He wants you to be the first to see Brooke."

Brock looked back at everyone and they all nodded in agreement.

"Alright then." he said.

* * *

Well, what did ya think! Review plz. And stay tuned for the FINAL chapter of COAL!


End file.
